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100 articles, 2016-01-29 00:09
1 UN health chief: Zika virus is 'spreading explosively'
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Declaring that the Zika virus is 'spreading explosively,' the World Health Organization
announced it will hold an emergency meeting of independent experts Monday to decide if
the outbreak should be declared an international health emergency. - World MyNorthwest.com January 28, 2016 @ 7:48 am 6KB mynorthwest.com
2 Australian Open: Novak Djokovic sees off spirited Federer to
reach sixth final
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Five-time winner Novak Djokovic won a thrilling semi-final battle with Roger Federer to
reach his sixth Australian Open final on Thursday 2016-01-28 20:26:27 3KB www.mid-day.com
3 Discovery: Galilee inscriptions in language of Jesus Contact
WND
A Free Press For A Free People Since 1997 2016-01-28 17:07:31 1KB www.wnd.com
4 For the world's most scrutinized body, changes for Barbie
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Barbie's got a brand new bod. - National - MyNorthwest.com January 28, 2016 @ 7:36 am
1KB mynorthwest.com
5 Senate subcommittee examines migrant children abuse
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Federal officials don't know how many migrant children they've sent to live with convicted
criminals across the U.S. over the last three years, at a time the government sought to
speed young Central American migrants out of shelters and into private homes, the chair
of a bipartisan congressional subcommittee said Wednesday. - National MyNorthwest.com January 28, 2016 @ 8:40 am 5KB mynorthwest.com
6 Mexico puts "affluenza" teen on plane to Texas
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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Uniformed Mexican immigration agents put "affluenza" teen Ethan
Couch aboard a commercial flight to Texas on Thursday morning, ending his ...
2016-01-28 16:54:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk
7 Mexico says 'affluenza' teen deported, en route to Dallas
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By Anahi Rama MEXICO CITY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Ethan Couch, known as the "affluenza"
teen after he killed four people in a drunk driving incident in 2013, was...
2016-01-28 16:43:00 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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8 Louis van Gaal: Man Utd boss says Derby defeat may get him
sacked
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says that an FA Cup defeat at Derby County on
Friday could get him the sack. Thu, 28 Jan 2016 15:35:33 -0000 2KB www.bbc.co.uk
9 Rihanna's new album ANTI features cover of Tame Impala's
song
Rihanna's long-awaited eighth studio album dropped on Thursday with one very
unexpected surprise. 2016-01-28 16:02:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
10 North Korea is just two weeks away from a SPACE LAUNCH
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Washington intelligence has reported increased movement of components and propellant
near a missile text site inside the country - ruled by Kim Jong Un (pictured) - in recent
weeks. 2016-01-28 15:46:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
11 ANC 'mobilising' for 104th anniversary
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Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. TMG Digital | 05 January, 2016 2 2KB
www.timeslive.co.za
12 Fatah lashes out at Hamas 'war merchants' after 7 killed in
tunnel collapse
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After Hamas men killed rebuilding attack tunnel, Fatah calls the group "war merchants
who know nothing but burying their young people in ashes." 2016-01-28 18:08:00 1KB
www.jpost.com
13 Obama's 'We are all Jews' speech an appeal to liberal
democratic values
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At Israel's embassy, Obama offers a deeper, less political, truly gallant explanation of the
imperative democracies prescribe to protect Jewish peoples worldwide. 2016-01-28 18:06:00
8KB www.jpost.com
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14 Anne Frank's stepsister compares Trump to Hitler Contact
WND
A Free Press For A Free People Since 1997 2016-01-28 17:07:33 983Bytes www.wnd.com
15 Former Providence Mayor Vincent 'Buddy' Cianci dies at 74
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Former Mayor Buddy Cianci, the wisecracking political rogue who presided over the
revitalization of Providence during two stints in office cut short by criminal charges and a
prison sentence for corruption, died Thursday. He was 74. - National - MyNorthwest.com
January 28, 2016 @ 8:40 am 6KB mynorthwest.com
16 White actor cast to play Michael Jackson Contact WND
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A Free Press For A Free People Since 1997 2016-01-28 17:06:51 1KB www.wnd.com
17 The Latest: Michigan Senate OKs $28M to address Flint crisis
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The latest on Flint's water crisis and efforts to fix the problem of lead in the drinking
water(all times local): - National - MyNorthwest.com January 28, 2016 @ 8:05 am 3KB
mynorthwest.com
18 Dennis Hastert's hush-money sentencing delayed until April
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A judge has agreed to delay Dennis Hastert's sentencing in a hush-money case after his
attorneys said the former U.S. House Speaker nearly died last November. - National MyNorthwest.com January 28, 2016 @ 7:44 am 1KB mynorthwest.com
19 Man arrested with two guns near Disneyland Paris
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French police confirm man held with two firearms while trying to enter a hotel near theme
park to the east of Paris 2016-01-28 17:03:22 2KB www.theguardian.com
20 Eye Opener: Trump's feud with Fox News takes center stage
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Donald Trump calls his decision to boycott the Fox News GOP debate "an eye for an eye."
Also, U.S. scientists warn the Zika virus outbreak could become an "explosive pandemic."
All that and all that matters in today's Eye Opener. Your world in 90 seconds.
2016-01-28 20:13:58 1KB www.cbsnews.com
21 EU mulls probe of UK Google tax deal as Italy investigates
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LONDON (AP) — Google is gearing up for a new round in its European tax fight after the
EU said it could investigate its 130 million-pound ($186 million) deal... 2016-01-28 16:54:00
1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
22 Obama creates new cancer task force, blessing Biden's effort
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama created a new federal task force
Thursday to accelerate cancer research, putting Vice President Joe Biden in charge ...
2016-01-28 16:49:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
23 Austrian police: Autopsy inconclusive in US woman's death
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Austrian police say an autopsy has not revealed the cause of death of a 25-year old
woman from Colorado whose body was found in her Vienna apartment. - World MyNorthwest.com January 28, 2016 @ 8:00 am 1KB mynorthwest.com
24 Donald Trump scares the hell out of Fox News: Why his
debate boycott really makes the network so nervous
The GOP frontrunner's war with the right-wing cable network has escalated dramatically.
Here's what's at stake 2016-01-28 20:13:51 4KB www.salon.com
25 GCHQ's Christmas card puzzle 'not yet solved'
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GCHQ's chief offers a clue for solving his cryptic Christmas card puzzle - as he reveals it
has not been cracked two days before the deadline. 2016-01-28 20:18:00 2KB www.bbc.co.uk
26 North Korea may be preparing for rocket launch - US
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North Korea may be preparing a rocket launch, US officials say, citing increased activity
around the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. 2016-01-28 20:17:43 2KB www.bbc.co.uk
27 Jeremy Hunt ordered to delete 'inappropriate' tweet during
trial
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was ordered by a judge to remove a "highly inappropriate"
tweet sent during a landmark manslaughter trial, it emerges. 2016-01-28 20:17:47 2KB
www.bbc.co.uk
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28 There’s no beating Megyn Kelly: What Donald Trump should
have learned from her Fox News interview with Michael Moore
Trump won't debate because he thinks Fox News anchor is biased. He clearly didn't watch
her Michael Moore interview 2016-01-28 20:12:33 5KB www.salon.com
29 Legal aid reforms scrapped by Michael Gove
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A major restructuring of the criminal legal aid system in England and Wales has been
scrapped, Justice Secretary Michael Gove confirms. 2016-01-28 20:18:24 2KB www.bbc.co.uk
30 Bed bugs develop resistance to widely used insecticides
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A study shows for the first time that bed bugs in the US have developed resistance to
neonicotinoids, the world's most widely used insecticides. 2016-01-28 20:18:31 4KB
www.bbc.co.uk
31 Will you like Facebook's new Reactions?
Facebook is about to offer all its users alternatives to "likes" - it could prove a boon to
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marketers. 2016-01-28 20:18:37 4KB www.bbc.co.uk
32 Sale of Lloyds shares to public delayed by George Osborne
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UK Chancellor George Osborne postpones the sale of the government's final stake in
Lloyds Banking Group, blaming global market turmoil. 2016-01-28 20:18:43 5KB
www.bbc.co.uk
33 Zika virus: Up to four million Zika cases predicted
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Three to four million people could be infected with Zika in the Americas this year, the
World Health Organization says. 2016-01-28 20:18:44 3KB www.bbc.co.uk
34 “If Donald Trump thinks Megyn Kelly is a lightweight, then
why is he scared of her?”: Trevor Noah asks the key question
about the Fox News debate
"Donald Trump has won the only fight that matters to him, the fight for attention," Noah
observed VIDEO 2016-01-28 20:12:45 1KB www.salon.com
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35 Kirsty Gallacher shows off incredible figure in skimpy white
bikini
The 40-year-old served up quite the revealing display as she stripped down to a skimpy
bikini for the new Champneys Detox range. 2016-01-28 16:23:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
36 Women suicide bombers kill four in north Cameroon
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A pair of women suicide bombers killed four people and left a trail of injury in north
Cameroon Thursday, the second such attacks this week in a region targe...
2016-01-28 16:15:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
37 US STOCKS-Wall St slightly higher; biotechs cap gains
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By Abhiram Nandakumar Jan 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street was slightly higher in volatile
trading on Thursday as a decline in biotech stocks offset gains in energ...
2016-01-28 16:12:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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38 Russia expects to offer VEB no more than 200 bln roubles in
aid in...
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Russian government's support for
state development bank VEB is estimated at no more than 200 billion roubles ($...
2016-01-28 16:07:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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39 Three-year-old girl found unconscious inside a snowed-in car
has died
Saniyah Bonilla, three (left), the girl found inside a snowed-in car in New Jersey with the
bodies of mother Sasha, 23 (right), and brother Messiah, one, has also passed away,
medics said. 2016-01-28 16:04:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
40 Putting tip works for Lawrie at Qatar Masters
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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Paul Lawrie benefited from a putting tip off a friend in shooting a 6under 66 at the Qatar Masters, giving the former British Open champi...
2016-01-28 16:00:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk
41 Iranian president hails 'new relationship' with France
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President Hassan Rouhani hailed a "new relationship" between Iran and France during a
visit Thursday that saw the signing of a host of post-sanctions busines...
2016-01-28 16:00:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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42 China charges Canadian with spying, stealing state secretsXinhua
TORONTO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A Canadian citizen detained by China since 2014 has
been indicted on charges of spying and stealing state secrets, the Xinhua sta...
2016-01-28 15:57:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
43 US monitoring Iraq's largest dam for signs of collapse
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The United States is monitoring Iraq's largest dam for signs of further deterioration that
could point to an impending catastrophic collapse, US army officer... 2016-01-28 15:50:00
1020Bytes www.dailymail.co.uk
44 No bomb found on plane at Cairo airport after threat -sources
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CAIRO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Egyptian security has found nothing suspicious on board a
passenger plane that was held up for searches at Cairo airport on Thursda...
2016-01-28 15:45:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk
45 A coffee named 'Death Wish' wins a Super Bowl commercial
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NEW YORK (AP) — A coffee with an edgy name and made by a small business is getting
a commercial in Super Bowl 50. Death Wish Coffee Co. won a competition hel...
2016-01-28 15:43:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
46 S. Africa raises key interest rate even as growth slows
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South Africa raised its benchmark interest rate by an aggressive half a percentage point to
6.75 percent Thursday to counter rising inflation, despite fears ... 2016-01-28 15:40:00 1KB
www.dailymail.co.uk
47 Islamic State claims Aden suicide car bombing that kills 7
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ADEN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for a suicide car
bombing on Thursday that killed seven people outside Yemeni Preside...
2016-01-28 15:32:00 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk
48 Apple recalls adapters over electric shock risk
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The plugs are designed for use in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Continental Europe, New
Zealand and South Korea. They were shipped with Mac and iOS devices between 2003
and 2015. 2016-01-28 15:29:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
49 The Latest: WHO warns Zika could spread to China
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GENEVA (AP) — The Latest on the Zika virus that is spreading through Latin America (all
times local): 4:05 p.m. The World Health Organization says China and ...
2016-01-28 15:28:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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50 Panda cubs can't contain their excitement as they play in the
snow
Fun-loving cubs at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda
could not get enough of the snowy conditions when they were allowed out to play earlier
today. 2016-01-28 15:22:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk
51 Russia says Saudis proposing 5 percent global oil cut
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By Darya Korsunskaya and Rania El Gamal ST PETERSBURG, Russia/DUBAI, Jan 28
(Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia had proposed g...
2016-01-28 15:21:00 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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52 Britain to take in unaccompanied refugee children from
conflict areas
By Alex Whiting LONDON, Jan 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain will take in
some unaccompanied refugee children from Syria, North Africa and other con...
2016-01-28 15:14:00 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk
53 EU says has no plan to review British VAT exemptions
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By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The European Union plans to
review and simplify value-added tax (VAT) across the 28-nation bloc but has n...
2016-01-28 15:08:00 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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54 Rightwing Israeli group accused of McCarthyism over antiartist campaign
Im Tirtzu billboards calling critics of Israeli state ‘leftwing moles’ denounced by cultural and
political leaders as reminiscent of US witch-hunt 2016-01-28 14:58:36 4KB
www.theguardian.com
55 US STOCKS-Wall St rises as oil soars on hopes of output cut
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By Abhiram Nandakumar Jan 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street was higher on Thursday morning,
tracking a surge in crude oil prices, a day after the U.S. Federal Reser...
2016-01-28 14:49:00 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk
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56 Self-driving electric shuttle bus tested for use on roads in
Netherlands – video
A self-driving electric shuttle bus, called a WEpod, is unveiled in Gelderland, Netherlands,
on Thursday 2016-01-28 14:38:40 1KB www.theguardian.com
57 2016 Olympic torch bearer will be a refugee, Olympic
committee says
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The 2016 Olympic flame will pass through a refugee camp in Athens on its way to Rio de
Janeiro, and one refugee will be among the torch bearers, the head of the International
Olympic Co 2016-01-28 13:53:12 2KB www.independent.ie
58 Mother was PARALYSED from the waist down after giving
birth
Fiona Miller, 26, from Orkney, Scotland, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 28
weeks pregnant. She spent the first two months of baby Lucas' life having treatment and
physio. 2016-01-28 12:16:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk
59 Sweden plans to expel half its 163,000 migrants to stem the
flow
Sweden plans to expel up to half of the record 163,000 migrants who arrived last year as
it tries to deter further arrivals 2016-01-28 11:39:00 1KB www.thetimes.co.uk
60 Blade: Enable people
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. Olebogeng Molatlhwa | 07 January 3KB
www.timeslive.co.za
61 DA seems to exclude certain sections of the populace from
beaches, says Sanco
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. TMG Digital | 07 January, 2016 1 1KB
www.timeslive.co.za
62 Premier hands over Marikana houses
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. Agency Staff | 06 January, 2016 2KB
www.timeslive.co.za
63 ANC wants racists, those who promote apartheid to go to jail
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. Bekezela Phakathi | 06 January, 2KB
www.timeslive.co.za
64 Warnings of food shortages
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. Sipho Masombuka | 05 January, 20 2KB
www.timeslive.co.za
65 Penny Sparrow could be looking for a new job
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. TMG Digital | 05 January, 2016 1 2KB
www.timeslive.co.za
66 De Klerk says Sparrow must make an ‘unqualified apology’
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. TMG Digital | 05 January, 2016 0 2KB
www.timeslive.co.za
67 Political parties react to controversial social media posts
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. Lizeka Tandwa | 04 January, 2016 3KB
www.timeslive.co.za
68 ANCYL set to charge Penny Sparrow over racist Facebook
post
Latest news from South Africa, World, Politics, Entertainment and Lifestyle. The home of
The Times and Sunday Times newspaper. TMG News Wires | 04 January, 201 1KB
www.timeslive.co.za
69 Can't crack 'The Witness'? Part of the fun is in the mystery,
not just the answers
The difficult yet beguiling new puzzle game 'The Witness' is built for patient contemplation.
2016-01-31 00:00:00 5KB www.latimes.com
70 Samsung follows Apple to forecast falling sales
Samsung said sales were slowing at its mobile phone and semiconductor divisions and
profits would likely be lower this year 2016-01-29 00:01:00 1KB www.thetimes.co.uk
71 Manish Tewari re-appointed Congress spokesperson
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday approved the appointment of Manish
Tewari as the spokesperson of the All India Congress Committee 2016-01-28 22:12:57 2KB
www.mid-day.com
72 20 smart cities across India announced: Here's the complete
list
Bhubaneswar, Pune, Jaipur, Kochi and Surat and Ahmedabad among first 20 cities which
will be developed into smart cities in 2016 2016-01-28 21:29:18 2KB www.mid-day.com
73 Inspired by Shani Shingnapur protest, women now seek entry
into Haji Ali Dargah
As women activists intensify their protests seeking entry into Shani Shingnapur temple in
Maharashtra, Muslim women groups on Thursday staged a protest demanding entry into
Haji Ali Dargah in south Mumbai 2016-01-28 21:03:56 3KB www.mid-day.com
74 Kohli, Yuvraj, Steve and Maxwell take a break 'with' Federer
and Djokovic
It's cricketers' day out at the Australian Open with players from the Indian and Australian
teams making a beeline for the Rod Laver Arena to watch the high-octane Federer vs
Djokovic semis tie 2016-01-28 20:43:16 2KB www.mid-day.com
75 CAT notice to AIIMS over removal of two doctors
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) issued notice to the AIIMS over the removal of
two doctors of the medicine department without proper inquiry into an allegation that they
misbehaved with a patient in September 2015 2016-01-28 20:28:14 2KB www.mid-day.com
76 Fan attempts to get into Zico’s house
Block B‘s Zico said he moved to another apartment after a fan tried to enter his home
during the latest episode of MBC’s “Radio Star,” Wednesday. In August of last year, the
2016-01-28 20:24:00 1KB entertainment.inquirer.net
77 Taeyeon releases teaser for new single ‘Rain’
Girls’ Generation member Taeyeon has released black-and-white teaser photos and a
video for her upcoming single, “Rain.” The teasers were released Wednesday through her
official webpage 2016-01-28 20:22:00 1KB entertainment.inquirer.net
78 Hema Malini accused of 'land-grabbing' for dance school in
Mumbai
Bollywood dreamgirl Hema Malini's plans to start a dance academy on a plot of land in
Mumbai's Andheri area hit a roadblock on Thursday, as an RTI activist accused her of
land-grabbing 2016-01-28 20:15:55 3KB www.mid-day.com
79 Virat Kohli's animated send-off leaves Steve Smith
unimpressed
Australian captain Steve Smith has expressed his unhappiness over Virat Kohli, saying
that the star Indian batsman's animated send-off during the opening T20 at Adelaide Oval
could have been avoided as it was just not cricket 2016-01-28 20:14:58 1KB www.mid-day.com
80 Srikanth, Kashyap enter Quarters; Sindhu loses in Lucknow
Top seed Kidambi Srikanth entered the quarterfinals but a heartbreak was in store for P V
Sindhu as she suffered a shocking loss to Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand in the second
round of the USD 120,000 Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament
2016-01-28 20:09:50 3KB www.mid-day.com
81 Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji, Dilip Shanghvi among world's
50 wealthiest people
Three Indians - Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji and Dilip Shanghvi - have made it to a
global list of 50 wealthiest people that is topped by Bill Gates 2016-01-28 20:04:05 2KB
www.mid-day.com
82 Bullock cart races still happening in Maharashtra: People For
Animals
Animal rights organisation People For Animals (PFA) has urged the Maharashtra
government to stop the illegal bullock cart races and bull fights which it claimed are still
taking place despite the recent order of the Supreme Court 2016-01-28 20:01:11 2KB
www.mid-day.com
83 P V Sindhu moves to World No. 11 in BWF ranking
Riding on her title-triumph at the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold, India's P V Sindhu
jumped one place to be just outside the top 10 in the latest BWF ranking
2016-01-28 19:58:29 1KB www.mid-day.com
84 Probe against Chhagan Bhujbal: ACB charge sheet likely in a
month
A charge sheet is likely to be filed within a month against NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal for
alleged misappropriation of funds and land grabbing, the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption
Bureau(ACB) informed the Bombay High Court 2016-01-28 19:54:59 2KB www.mid-day.com
85 Nevada rolls the dice to attract more Indians to Las Vegas
Does the excitement of winning a jackpot on a slot machine or making a killing at table
games give you a blood rush? Then Las Vegas, still the gaming and entertainment capital
of the world, is inviting you to try your luck 2016-01-28 19:49:17 3KB www.mid-day.com
86 Manohar Parrikar bats for larger role for women in ICG
combat oprations
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today batted for a larger role for women in combat
operations in Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and said focus needs to be put on facilitating it
2016-01-28 19:47:39 1KB www.mid-day.com
87 Shoe thrown at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to protest liquor ban
A man hurled a shoe at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, but it missed the
intended target 2016-01-28 19:41:12 1KB www.mid-day.com
88 FIR against Bihar Congress leader for kidnapping woman
An FIR has been lodged against Congress legislator Sidharth Kumar Singh for allegedly
kidnapping a young woman, police said on Thursday 2016-01-28 19:04:26 1KB www.midday.com
89 Graphic Video: Woman falls into platform gap at Borivali
station, dies
Woman killed after falling into gap between platform and train at Borivali station while
trying to deboard moving train. Contents of the video could be disturbing. Viewer
discretion is advised 2016-01-28 18:59:12 1KB www.mid-day.com
90 Sack Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, CPI-M tells
Narendra Modi
The CPI-M has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack his ministers Smriti Irani and
Bandaru Dattatreya, saying they are to blame for the suicide of a Dalit student in
Hyderabad 2016-01-28 18:46:43 2KB www.mid-day.com
91 Domestic airlines strengthen measures to handle unruly
flyers
Domestic airlines have bolstered measures to deal with unruly passengers on board
aircraft following a recent spate of such incidents 2016-01-28 18:24:01 3KB www.mid-day.com
92 India test fires indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash
missile
India on Friday test fired its indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash missile as part of
a user trial from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur 2016-01-28 17:44:17 2KB
www.mid-day.com
93 Palestinian university students design robot controlled by
glove
Computer engineering students Mohammad Zyoud, Mohammad Atiyyeh and Suhaib
Tawafsheh spent eight months working on the self-funded project which cost them around
150 USD. 2016-01-28 17:35:00 2KB www.jpost.com
94 Bernie Sanders to co-sponsor gun control bill – campaign
live
Trump’s closest competitor in the Iowa polls throws gauntlet down to billionaire after
Trump says he’ll shirk the final pre-primary Republican debate 2016-01-28 17:23:36 2KB
www.theguardian.com
95 Rwandan and Holocaust survivors form 'task force' for
fighting genocide
The program plans to take American students to Rwanda with survivors of the Holocaust
and to the sites of the Nazi atrocities in Eastern Europe. 2016-01-28 17:19:00 1KB
www.jpost.com
96 Car-making deals, protests greet Iranian president in Paris
France welcomed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday with a long-term carmaking agreement and pledges to boost trade now that a diplomatic deal is easing
nuclear tensions. - Associated Press - 1KB www.washingtontimes.com
97 U-19 World Cup: Sarfaraz, Washington guide India to 79-run
win over Ireland
Mumbai lad Sarfaraz Khan and Washington Sundar blasted twin half-centuries as India
notched up a comprehensive 79-run win over Ireland in their opening match to make a
resounding start to their campaign at the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016-01-28 17:14:35 4KB
www.mid-day.com
98 Our Principles PAC: 'Tough Questions' | Campaign 2016
Anti-Trump PAC 'Our Principles' released this ad Jan. 28, attacking Republican
presidential candidate Donald Trump for skipping the final Republican debate before the
Iowa caucuses and for his stance on immigration. January 28, 2016 20160128 1KB
www.washingtonpost.com
99 Trooper shot on I-75 South: timeline
The scene: about a mile north of Delk Road on I-75 South, Wednesday afternoon at the
start of rush hour. 2016-01-28 19:16:57 2KB www.myajc.com
100 US stocks waver as energy stocks rise and health care
sinks
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are wavering following a sharp sell-off the day before.
Biotech stocks fell Thursday after Massachusetts began investigating drug...
2016-01-28 17:11:00 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk
Articles
100 articles, 2016-01-29 00:09
1
UN health chief: Zika virus is 'spreading explosively'
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GENEVA (AP) -- Declaring that the Zika virus is
"spreading explosively," the World Health
Organization announced it will hold an
emergency meeting of independent experts
Monday to decide if the outbreak should be
declared an international health emergency.
At a special meeting Thursday in Geneva, WHO
Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said the
virus -- which has been linked to birth defects
and neurological problems -- was becoming
much more of a threat. One WHO scientist said
the Americas could see up to 4 million cases of Zika in the next year.
Chan said although there was no definitive proof that the Zika virus was responsible for a
spike in the number of babies being born with abnormally small heads in Brazil, "the level of
alarm is extremely high. " She also noted a possible relationship between Zika infections and
Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis.
"The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika
from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions. The increased incidence of microcephaly is
particularly alarming, as it places a heart-breaking burden on families and communities,"
Chan said.
The Zika virus was first detected in 1947 and for decades only caused mild disease, but Chan
noted that "the situation today is dramatically different. " According to the U. S. Centers for
Disease Control, the Zika virus is now in more than 20 countries, mostly in Central and South
America. It is spread by the same mosquito that spreads dengue and yellow fever.
Earlier this month, the CDC said pregnant women should consider postponing trips to more
than a dozen countries with Zika and advised women trying to get pregnant or thinking of
getting pregnant to speak to their doctor before traveling and to take extra precautions to
avoid mosquito bites.
Sylvain Aldighieri, head of WHO's epidemic response team in the Americas, estimated there
could be 3 to 4 million Zika infections in the region over the next year. He said the agency
expects "huge numbers" of infections because of the widespread presence of the Aedes
mosquitoes that spread Zika and because people in the region have no natural immunity.
WHO also warned China and all other countries that have dengue fever to be on the lookout
for Zika infections. The agency said it could be many years before a vaccine is available.
Chan cited four main reasons why WHO was "deeply concerned" about Zika: The possible
link to birth defects and brain syndromes, the prospect of further spread, a lack of immunity
among people living in the newly affected areas and the absence of vaccines, treatments or
quick diagnostic tests for the virus.
The U. N. health agency called the special session in part to convey its concern about an
illness that has sown fear among many would-be mothers, who have responded by covering
themselves head-to-toe in clothing in largely tropical Brazil or putting on many coats of insect
repellent.
Declaring a global emergency is akin to an international SOS signal and usually brings more
money and action to address an outbreak. The last such emergency was announced for the
devastating 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which eventually ending up killing over
11,000 people. Polio was declared a similar emergency the year before.
Still, convening an emergency committee does not guarantee that a global emergency will be
declared -- WHO has held 10 such meetings to assess the Middle Eastern respiratory
syndrome coronavirus and no emergency has been announced.
One reason why WHO is examining the Zika virus so quickly may be because the agency
was criticized for its slow response to Ebola; nearly 1,000 people had died before WHO
declared it to be an international emergency. The Associated Press found that senior agency
officials resisted the Ebola declaration for two months, citing political and economic reasons.
Marcos Espinal, WHO's director of infectious diseases in the Americas region, said Brazil is
conducting studies to determine if there is scientific evidence that Zika virus causes birth
defects and neurological problems. He said they are hopeful Brazil may have data to share in
a couple of months.
Brazil's Zika outbreak and the spike in microcephaly cases among babies have been
concentrated in the poor and underdeveloped northeast of the country, though the prosperous
southeast, where Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are located, is the second hardest-hit region.
Rio de Janeiro is of special concern, since it will host the Aug. 5-21 Summer Olympic games
that are expected to be attended by millions from around the world.
Earlier this week, officials in Rio ramped up their fight against the mosquitoes that spread
Zika, dispatching fumigators to the Sambadrome, where the city's Carnival parades will take
place next month.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine for Zika, which is related to dengue. Scientists have
struggled for years to develop a dengue vaccine; the first such shot made by Sanofi Pasteur
was licensed last year in Brazil.
Still, in Washington, a leading U. S. health official said Thursday that he doubts the United
States is vulnerable to a widespread outbreak of the virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci said hopefully
the Zika virus can be kept at bay with "mosquito vector control. "
___
Cheng reported from London.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
January 28, 2016 @ 7:48 am Associated Press
2
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic sees off spirited Federer to
(6)
reach sixth final
Melbourne: World No.1 Novak Djokovic moved to his sixth Australian Open final after
producing a masterful display to defeat Roger
Federer 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the semi-final here
on Thursday.
The Serbian will be bidding to win his 11th
Grand Slam championship and will face the
winner of Friday’s semi-final between Andy
Murray and Milos Raonic.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates victory
during his men's singles semi-final match
against Switzerland's Roger Federer on day
eleven of the 2016 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 28, 2016.
Pic/AFP
Djokovic has won the trophy in four of the past five years and is a five-time winner overall.
Federer, a four-time champion at Mebourne Park, fell in the semi-finals for the fifth time in the
past six years.
"I played unbelievable in the first two sets," Djokovic said after the match.
"It was necessary against Roger, who was playing at a very high level during this tournament,
only dropping one set. I knew he would be aggressive. I came out with the right intensity and
executed everything perfectly. The two-set lead was comforting, but it was a battle in the end.
At the end of the day, it's important that your convictions are stronger than your doubts. "
Djokovic dazzled in the first set, committing just two unforced errors, compared to 12 from
Federer.
Djokovic broke in the first game and lost only one point behind his first serve as he raced
through the opener.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner Federer tried to halt Djokovic’s momentum at the start of the
second set, saving a break point to hold serve with a roar. But Djokovic didn’t flinch.
In the Swiss' following service game, the Serb broke twice to seal a two-set lead.
Djokovic made just six errors in the first two sets, compared to 22 from the World No.3 and did
not face a break point.
But Federer did not bow quietly. He saved a break point in the fifth game before going on the
attack in Djokovic’s service game.
He received majority of the crowd support on the Rod Laver Arena. The Swiss was thwarted
on his first four break points of the match, but not on his fifth.
He then held on to his serve in the ninth game to let claw his way back into the match.
Djokovic, however, kept up the pressure and it ultimately told on Federer in the eighth game
of the fourth set.
Djokovic broke Federer's serve, forcing the 34-year-old to an unforced error. He then held on
to his service and claimed victory in two hours and 19 minutes.
It was the 45th meeting between the two greats with Djokovic now edging ahead of Federer
23-22 in their head-to-head duels.
The amazing Serb continued his recent domination over the 17-time Grand Slam champion
and on Sunday, he will become the first man in the Open era to contest six Australian Open
finals.
2016-01-28 20:26:27 By Agencies | Posted 5 hours
3
Discovery: Galilee inscriptions in language of Jesus Contact
(3)
WND
(The Blaze) Archaeologists have uncovered
three 1,700-year-old Aramaic and Greek
inscriptions in northern Israel honoring men who
were described as “rabbis,” but mystery remains
over the identity of the religious leaders.
The Israel Antiquities Authority on Wednesday
announced the discovery of the epitaphs in the
cemetery of the ancient city of Zippori, also
known as Sepphoris, which once served as the capital of Galilee.
Researchers said they were able to discern three Aramaic words and one Greek word in the
funerary inscriptions. The Aramaic words translate to “the Tiberian,” “forever” and “rabbi,”
while the Greek inscription mentions the name Jose, a common name for Jews at the time.
2016-01-28 17:07:31 www.wnd.com
4
For the world's most scrutinized body, changes for Barbie
(3)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Barbie's got a brand new bod.
Mattel, the maker of the iconic plastic doll, said it will begin selling Barbie in three new body
types -- curvy, tall, and petite. She'll also be available in seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and
24 hairstyles.
The El Segundo, California, toy company will also continue to sell the original Barbie. The
new options come after years of criticism that Barbie had created unrealistic expectations for
women.
Sales of Barbie dolls have been sliding as girls turn their attention to tablets and other toys,
falling 4 percent from the previous year in the most recent quarter for Mattel.
Even before Thursday, however, Barbie has been changing. New skin tones and looks were
added last year. And Barbie's foot was movable for the first time, allowing her to kick her
heels off and wear flats.
Dolls with the new bodies are available for preorder at shop.mattel.com, and will ship in
February. They will hit start to show up on U. S. store shelves in March and roll in the rest of
the world after that, Mattel Inc. said.
_____
Follow Joseph Pisani at http://twitter.com/josephpisani. His work can be found at
http://bigstory.ap.org/author/joseph-pisani .
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
January 28, 2016 @ 7:36 am Associated Press
5
Senate subcommittee examines migrant children abuse
(3)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Federal officials don't know how many migrant
children they've sent to live with convicted criminals across the U. S. over
the last three years, at a time the government sought to speed young Central American
migrants out of shelters and into private homes, the chair of a bipartisan congressional
subcommittee said Wednesday.
Overwhelmed by the numbers of children crossing the border, the U. S. Department of Health
and Human Services weakened its child protection policies, leaving children vulnerable to
human trafficking, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said in an opening statement to the Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
The subcommittee is holding a hearing Thursday to examine weaknesses in the agency's
placement program for migrant children, which Portman says suffers from "serious, systemic
defects. "
The senator's statement echoes the findings of an Associated Press investigation released
Monday, which found that more than two dozen unaccompanied children were sent to homes
across the country where they were sexually assaulted, starved or forced to work for little or
no pay. In his statement, Portman said that as part of its six-month investigation, the
subcommittee reviewed "more than 30 cases involving serious indications of trafficking and
abuse. " Since almost all of the children have not been publicly identified, it could not
immediately be determined if the children studied by the AP were among those cited by
Portman.
"The program does an amazing job overall," HHS spokesman Mark Weber said in a recent
AP interview. "We are not taking shortcuts. "
Top HHS officials are scheduled to testify at the hearing, which will reveal new details in a
case in Portman's home state of Ohio, where six Guatemalan unaccompanied minors were
placed with human traffickers including sponsors and their associates. Lured north with the
promise of an education, the teens instead were forced to work up to 12 hours a day on egg
farms in Marion, Ohio, under threats of death.
"HHS told us that it is literally unable to figure out how many children it has placed with
convicted felons, what crimes those individuals committed, or how that class of children are
doing today," Portman said in a statement, noting that the agency changed its criminal
background check policy only Monday. "How many other cases are there like the Marion
trafficking case? The answer is HHS doesn't know. "
HHS bars releasing children to anyone convicted of child abuse or neglect or violent felonies
like homicide and rape. In November, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said a whistleblower
contacted his office saying that unaccompanied children were placed with 3,400 sponsors
who had criminal histories including homicide, child molestation, sexual assault and human
trafficking. The government says it is investigating that claim.
While declining to explain how it got stretched so thin, HHS says it recently signed a contract
to open new shelters, and is strengthening its protection procedures as the number of young
migrants is once again rising.
According to emails, agency memos and operations manuals obtained by AP, some under
the Freedom of Information Act, the agency relaxed its procedures as the number of young
migrants rose in response to spiraling gang and drug violence in Honduras, Guatemala and
El Salvador.
First, the government stopped fingerprinting most adults seeking to claim the children. In April
2014, the agency stopped requiring original copies of birth certificates to prove most
sponsors' identities. The next month, it decided not to complete forms that request sponsors'
personal and identifying information before sending many of the children to sponsors' homes.
Then, it eliminated FBI criminal history checks for many sponsors.
AP uncovered accounts of children placed with sponsors who forced them to work taking care
of other children and in cantinas where women drink, dance and sometimes have sex with
patrons. Other teens were placed with relatives who were abusive and locked them inside the
home. Experts who work with migrant children, including a psychologist and an attorney, cited
cases in which unaccompanied children were raped by relatives or other people associated
with their sponsors.
Advocates say it is hard to gauge the total number of children exposed to dangerous
conditions among the more than 89,000 placed with sponsors since October 2013 because
many of the migrants designated for follow-up were nowhere to be found when social workers
tried to reach them.
___
The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate@ap.org
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
January 28, 2016 @ 8:40 am Associated Press
6
Mexico puts "affluenza" teen on plane to Texas
(3)
This frame grab from a Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016
taken from a video provided by Mexico's
Instituto Nacional de Migracion, INM, shows a
hooded Ethan Couch, as he is processed by
Mexican immigration agents, in Mexico City.
INM said that Couch, who used an "affluenza"
defense in a 2013 fatal drunken-driving accident
in Texas, was taken to the Mexico City airport
from an immigration holding center, ending his
month-long stay in Mexico. Couch was escorted
onto a commercial plane, en route to Dallas, Thursday morning. (Instituto Nacional de
Migracion, INM via AP)
This frame grab taken from a Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 video provided by Mexico's Instituto
Nacional de Migracion, INM, shows Ethan Couch, as he is escorted by Mexican immigration
agents, upon their arrival to the international airport in Mexico City. INM says it has taken the
Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident to the
Mexico City airport, to fly him back to Texas to face charges. The institute said Thursday that
Couch would be placed on a commercial flight to Dallas, Texas. (Instituto Nacional de
Migración, INM via AP)
This frame grab taken from a Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 video provided by Mexico's Instituto
Nacional de Migracion, INM, shows Ethan Couch, escorted onto a plane by Mexican
immigration agents, in Mexico City. INM says it has taken the Texas teenager who used an
"affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident to the Mexico City airport, to fly him
back to Texas to face charges. Couch was placed on a commercial flight to Dallas, Texas.
(Instituto Nacional de Migración, INM via AP)
2016-01-28 16:54:00 Associated Press
7
Mexico says 'affluenza' teen deported, en route to Dallas
(3)
By
Reuters
Published:
16:43 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
16:43 GMT, 28 January 2016
By Anahi Rama
MEXICO CITY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Ethan Couch, known as the
"affluenza" teen after he killed four people in a drunk driving
incident in 2013, was deported from Mexico on Thursday, leaving
the country aboard a commercial flight headed for Dallas,
Mexico's migration department said.
Couch, 18, and his mother, Tonya, were arrested in Mexico
last month following a more than two-week-long manhunt. His
mother was deported to the United States last month and Couch
dropped a legal appeal against his extradition.
Couch departed Mexico City at 8:50 a.m. local time (1450
GMT) aboard Aeromexico flight 2682 heading for Dallas, the
migration department said. The flight is due to land in Dallas
at 11:12 a.m. (1712 GMT), according to FlightStats.com.
In a video sent by migration authorities, Couch, who is
wearing a camouflage hooded top and jeans, can be seen signing
papers before being accompanied by Mexican officials onto the
plane.
Once Couch arrives in Texas, he will be placed in a juvenile
detention center, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said.
He will then face a detention hearing on either Friday or
Monday, at which a judge will determine whether to transfer the
case from the juvenile system to the adult system, Sam Jordan, a
spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney's office,
said in an email.
Couch's lawyers may seek to transfer him to the adult system
so that he can apply for bail, an option not available in the
juvenile system, a legal official familiar with the case said.
If he is found to have violated the terms of his probation,
legal authorities said Couch faces about four months behind
bars. His mother Tonya Couch faces up to 10 years in prison for
helping her son flee to Mexico. She has already returned to
Texas and has been freed on bond.
Couch was sentenced to 10 years of drug-and-alcohol-free
probation for intoxication manslaughter, a punishment condemned
by critics as privilege rewarded with leniency.
During the trial, a psychologist sparked outrage by saying
in his defense that Couch was so wealthy and spoiled, that he
could not tell the difference between right and wrong - hence,
he was suffering from affluenza.
But Tarrant County prosecutors say Couch is responsible for
his own absence by fleeing to Mexico.
(Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Marice Richter in
Texas, writing by Gabriel Stargardter; editing by Simon Gardner
and G Crosse)
2016-01-28 16:43:00 Reuters
8
Louis van Gaal: Man Utd boss says Derby defeat may get
(3)
him sacked
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says that an FA Cup defeat by Derby on Friday
could get him the sack.
The Dutchman described speculation he offered to resign after the 1-0 defeat by
Southampton, with United fifth in the league, as "awful and horrible".
He claimed the media had "sacked" him three
times this season, but said he "cannot lose" to
the Championship club in the FA Cup fourthround tie.
"Maybe then you have written the truth because
sometimes it happens," he said.
United are 10 points off Premier League leaders
Leicester, five points behind Tottenham in fourth
place and out of the Champions League.
Van Gaal said questions about his future were being asked in a "disrespectful way".
The 64-year-old addressed the media at a news conference on Thursday: "You make your
stories and people believe it. I am concerned they are believing it. You can write what you do.
"It is the third time I am sacked and I am still sitting here.
"Now I cannot lose any more - then for the fourth time that I have been sacked. "
Van Gaal he praised the "fantastic" support of executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and
said and FA Cup win could be his saviour - as it proved for Sir Alex Ferguson in January
1990.
Ferguson was three years into the job at Old Trafford and United were plummeting towards
the old First Division relegation zone when they faced Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third
round.
It was believed that a defeat would see Ferguson sacked. They won 1-0 and Ferguson went
on to become English football's most successful manager.
Asked on whether the FA Cup could become his saviour, Van Gaal added: "Of course.
"But when you lose it is more worse. "
Bat and Chat
Diddi Dance Class
Thu, 28 Jan 2016 15:35:33 -0000 www.bbc.co.uk
9
Rihanna's new album ANTI features cover of Tame Impala's
(3)
song
Surprise for fans! Rihanna released her new
album ANTI on Thursday with the free album
downloads not the only surprise, with the 27year-old covering a song by Tame Impala
Make no Mistake, she's a fan! The RnB queen's
rendition of the Australian psych-rock band's
song New Person, Same Old Mistakes sits at
number nine on the album
Highly ANTI-cipated! The singer dropped her
long-awaited eighth studio album on streaming service Tidal a week ahead of it's general
release
Collaboration: Rihanna's first single off the album is her collaboration with Drake, called Work
Winning big! The band won five Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards last
November
Grammy nominated: The boys from Perth will find out next month if they've won the Grammy
Award for Best Alternate Album
2016-01-28 16:02:00 Karishma Sarkari for Daily Mail Australia
10
North Korea is just two weeks away from a SPACE LAUNCH
(3)
Dictator: The news of the possible long-range
missile launch comes just days after Kim Jongun claimed he had weapons capable of
obliterating the U. S.
Kim Jong Un watches a submarine-launched
ballistic missile which he claims could deliver a
nuclear warhead, however experts claim the
footage was faked
2016-01-28 15:46:00 Euan McLelland For MailOnline
11
ANC 'mobilising' for 104th anniversary
(2)
Ahead of a celebration at the Royal Bafokeng
Stadium in Rustenburg‚ senior officials from the
party are delivering speeches‚ holding briefings
and meeting with local leaders to drum up
support and ensure that the series of events will
be successful.
As many as 120‚000 people are expected to
attend the stadium event on Saturday‚ where
Cassper Nyovest‚ Ihashi Elimhlophe‚ Zahara‚
Nathi and AKA are expected to perform. A
group called Bikers for the ANC are also
expected to attend.
A gala dinner will be held on Friday evening‚ before the main event‚ to raise funds for the
organisation.
According to deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte‚ President Jacob Zuma is expected to
address the crowd at 11am.
Duarte tweeted: “We are all over the North West. The idea is to make contact with the people.
This is a way to assess progress in the province.”
North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo tweeted that the province was ready to host all the
visitors.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was in Tlokwe‚ where he met with the president of the
ANC Youth League‚ Collen Maine.
On Tuesday the party held a press briefing on the party’s state of readiness for the event.
Spokesperson Jackson Mthembu indicated that he was doing door-to-door canvassing in
Swartruggens.
On Monday‚ Secretary General Gwede Mantashe was welcomed by the chief of Mmatau‚
where several National Executive Committee members were also in attendance. On
Tuesday‚ he was at the Ditsobotla taxi rank speaking to commuters.
Treasurer general Zweli Mkhize was in Madibeng‚ according to his tweet‚ “mobilizing”. He
later joined the BataungBaHlalele community.
TMG Digital | 05 January, 2016 2 TMG Digital
12
Fatah lashes out at Hamas 'war merchants' after 7 killed in
(2)
tunnel collapse
Fatah vehemently attacked Hamas for "offering
Gazans nothing but war" following the death of
seven Hamas fighters who were killed when a
tunnel they were working to rebuild collapsed in
Gaza on Wednesday.
In a furious post written on its Facebook page
on Thursday, Fatah claimed that the social
media campaign that praises Hamas fighters
who died in the incident as "tunnel fighters" is
lead by a group of "war merchants who know
nothing but burying their young people in ashes.
"
Fatah asks: "When will these people understand that they are ruining the dreams of
oppressed Gazans? And when will they understand that the sacrifice of our children in any
future war with Israel will never change the reality, besides adding more names to the list of
martyrs. "
The seven members of Hamas’ military wing were killed on Wednesday while in the midst of
reconstructing an attack tunnel that was destroyed by the IDF during Operation Protective
Edge in August 2014.
Fatah's accusations against Hamas come shortly before reconciliation talks between the
parties are set to begin in Doha next week. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
is expected to meet the head of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Mashaal.
2016-01-28 18:08:00 Maayan Groisman
13
Obama's 'We are all Jews' speech an appeal to liberal
(2)
democratic values
WASHINGTON -- Three days before Israel's embassy in Washington was set to host its firstever address by a sitting American president, its staff faced a tall order: Digging out from an
historic blizzard that buried the complex under 30 inches of snow.
The plan had been to erect a heated tent outside of Jerusalem Hall, the embassy's main
event space, where US President Barack
Obama was to speak in honor of four Americans
posthumously declared Righteous Among the
Nations: Non-Jews who risked their lives to
rescue Jews during the Holocaust.
Not only would this be the first time a president
has addressed the embassy (former president
Bill Clinton visited, but did not speak). It also
would be the first time this distinction– the
highest honor offered to non-Jews by the
Jewish state– was to be awarded on American
soil.
So ten able-bodied staffers– including Israel's ambassador himself, Ron Dermer– shoveled
the square to prepare for the event, attended by the families of those honored, and by some of
those they saved; by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker, and by
Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Senator Bob Corker of New Jersey; and by
several Jewish community leaders from Israel and the US.
Dermer also wrote his own remarks himself, touched by the stories of the four recipients:
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, Lois Gunden, Walery and Maryla Zbijewski.
"After Adam and Eve disobey God in the Garden of Eden, we read that they hide in shame as
they hear God’s voice. Ayeka , 'where are you?' God asks," Dermer said, noting the question
is the first God asks in the Hebrew Bible. "The sages of the Jewish people teach us that
'Where are you' is not a question God is asking for His sake. It is a question God is asking for
our sake. "
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust were not the victims of an
earthquake, a hurricane or some other random natural disaster that would understandably
turn our eyes to the heavens for answers," he said. "The six million Jews killed in the
Holocaust were murdered by other human beings– by human beings who had a choice. So
perhaps the question, 'where are you?,' Ayeka– a question that so many asked God during
the holocaust and which so many of us have been asking God ever since– is not a question
for us to ask God, but a question for God to ask us. "
"Where was man during the Holocaust?," Dermer continued. "Where was the moral compass
of the millions who simply looked the other way as the Nazis and their army of willing
executioners perpetrated such monstrous evil? Rather than honestly confront this damning
question, people instead tried to excuse their inaction. "
The packed hall was then told of the deeds of each recipient: An American teacher who
convinced French Jewish parents to give up their children to save their lives; A couple which
put their lives at risk in occupied Warsaw to house Jewish children whose names they never
knew; And a US sergeant who, in German captivity, refused to allow his captors to separate
out Jews from non-Jewish prisoners.
"We are all Jews," Edmonds told his captors.
Over the spring and summer of 2015– both before and after reaching a landmark nuclear deal
with Iran in July– Obama engaged in extensive outreach to the American Jewish community.
Visiting Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, he declared himself an "honorary member
of the tribe. " He offered interviews with American Jewish outlets. The message was political:
That the president understood, and indeed empathized with the Jewish community and its
international concerns, despite his administration's public differences with the Israeli
government.
Already he had visited Yad Vashem twice, the camp at Buchenwald once, and the Holocaust
Museum recently to show his daughters the horror– "because our children must know this
chapter of our history, and that we must never repeat it," he said on Wednesday.
At Israel's embassy, Obama offered a deeper, less political, truly gallant explanation of the
imperative democracies prescribe to protect Jewish peoples worldwide. "We are all Jews," he
declared, "because anti-Semitism is a distillation, an expression of an evil that runs through
so much of human history– and if we do not answer that, we do not answer any other form of
evil. "
"We hear their stories, and we are forced to ask ourselves, under the same circumstances,
how would we act?," the president said.
Diverging from his prepared remarks, echoing the ambassador, he asked: "How would we
answer God’s question, 'where are you?'"
"We’re called to live in a way that shows that we’ve actually learned from our past," Obama
said. "And that means rejecting indifference. It means cultivating a habit of empathy, and
recognizing ourselves in one another; to make common cause with the outsider, the minority,
whether that minority is Christian or Jew, whether it is Hindu or Muslim, or a nonbeliever;
whether that minority is native born or immigrant; whether they’re Israeli or Palestinian. "
"It means taking a stand against bigotry in all its forms," he added, "and rejecting our darkest
impulses and guarding against tribalism as the only value in our communities and in our
politics. "
Obama was offered to speak at the event during President Reuven Rivlin's visit in November,
according to senior administration officials. "The president wanted to participate given his
strong belief that we must never forget the lessons of the Holocaust and always stand up
against anti-Semitism, intolerance and hatred in all of its forms," said one official. "He was
happy to be part of an event that honors those who lived these values. "
Another, acknowledging the president's storied history with the American Jewish community,
said the president's poignant speech reflects where he has always stood.
"What the president said tonight is what he has always believed," another senior
administration official said. "In the midst of the Iran debate, some of our critics attempted to
conflate policy disagreements over the Iran deal with this Administration's– and this
president's– support for Israel. His remarks at the Israeli Embassy were a stark reminder that,
despite narrow disagreements, this president's attachment and commitment to Israel and its
people is unshakeable. "
Indeed, the speech largely veered from politics– delivered on Holocaust Remembrance Day,
the president did not specifically call out one nation or another for its denial of the event. But
he did categorically condemn double standards faced by Israel in the international
community.
"When voices around the world veer from criticism of a particular Israeli policy to an unjust
denial of Israel’s right to exist, when Israel faces terrorism, we stand up forcefully and proudly
in defense of our ally, in defense of our friend, in defense of the Jewish State of Israel," he
said. "It would be a fundamental moral failing if America broke that bond. "
Regardless of their own politics, those in attendance roundly expressed satisfaction with the
president's speech. "I thought his remarks could not have been better. They were very good,
and they were heartfelt," Corker said after the event.
"It was a very important message," Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, chairman of Yad Vashem, said, "not
only to the state of Israel, but to the Jewish people. "
Dermer offered Obama a gift upon receiving him at the Embassy: A book titled, "And Every
Single One Was Someone," in which "Jew" is written 6,000,000 times. And each recipient's
family was awarded a framed certificate of honor, from Yad Vashem, as well as a
complementary medal.
Introducing the president was famed director Steven Spielberg, credited for his work in
memorializing the story of one Righteous Among the Nations honoree– Oskar Schindler– in
the 1993 film bearing his name.
"The president's support is needed and appreciated more than ever," Spielberg said,
thanking his "good friend" for his administration's efforts in the fight against rising antiSemitism worldwide.
The director– who has long said the Shoah was the story he was born to tell– called on the
audience to listen closely to the stories of those honored.
"They can help us find our voices," he said.
2016-01-28 18:06:00 MICHAEL WILNER
14
Anne Frank's stepsister compares Trump to Hitler Contact
(2)
WND
(CNN) In an essay to mark International
Holocaust Remembrance Day, Anne Frank’s
stepsister accused Republican presidential
front-runner Donald Trump of “acting like
another Hitler.”
Eva Schloss, now 86, was a friend of Frank’s in
Amsterdam after their families fled Nazi
Germany in the 1930s. Her mother, Fritzi, would
marry Otto Frank, Anne’s father, after World War II.
“If Donald Trump become(s) the next president of the U. S. it would be a complete disaster,”
she told Newsweek on Wednesday. “I think he is acting like another Hitler by inciting racism.”
2016-01-28 17:07:33 www.wnd.com
15
Former Providence Mayor Vincent 'Buddy' Cianci dies at 74
(2)
PROVIDENCE, R. I. (AP) -- Former Mayor Buddy Cianci, the wisecracking political rogue
who presided over the revitalization of Providence during two stints in office cut short by
criminal charges and a prison sentence for corruption, died Thursday. He was 74.
Cianci's employer, WLNE-TV, and a friend,
Artin Coloian, confirmed his death. Coloian said
he died Thursday morning. He did not release
the cause. WLNE said he was taping his weekly
TV show, "On the Record with Buddy Cianci,"
Wednesday evening when he had severe
stomach pains and was taken by ambulance to
Miriam Hospital.
Cianci was elected to six terms as mayor, a
period that coincided with the resurrection of Providence from a decaying, Industrial-age relic
to a 21st-century city with gondolas plying newly uncovered rivers. His bare-fisted style of
politics made Cianci larger than life even in a tiny state known for the outsized personalities of
its public figures.
"He's the most talented politician that New England has produced since John Kennedy,"
former University of Rhode Island political scientist Marc Genest said in a 2002 interview.
The charismatic mayor became ensnared in an FBI investigation into City Hall corruption,
code-named "Operation Plunder Dome. " In 2001, he was indicted charges he orchestrated
bribes for jobs, contracts and contributions to his campaign fund.
Cianci vehemently proclaimed his innocence: "I have said to you before, there are no stains
on this jacket, and I assure you there still are no stains on this jacket," he said after the
indictment.
The case went to trial in 2002. In a circus-like trial that lasted seven weeks and featured a
local who's who list of wise guys and mob wannabes, a jury found Cianci guilty of one count
of racketeering conspiracy. He was sentenced to five years, four months in a federal prison.
He was released from prison in 2007. He would later call his prison term a "bump in the road.
"
After prison, he resumed his career as a radio talk show host and TV commentator, but the
pull back to politics was strong.
"All the things that they celebrate in this city are the things that I did," Cianci said in 2014 as
he contemplated a comeback bid for mayor.
Despite being diagnosed with cancer the same year, he chose to jump in, running as an
independent. Faced with the possibility of a Cianci return to office, several Democratic
candidates dropped out to consolidate support behind political newcomer Jorge Elorza. The
idea of a new Cianci administration was so objectionable that even the Republican candidate
donated $1,000 to Elorza and then voted for him.
Cianci lost, but still pulled in 45 percent of the vote.
Ironically, Cianci began his public career as a state prosecutor on the attorney general's anticorruption task force. For six years, he made a name for himself going after members of the
powerful mob families.
In 1974, at 32, he capitalized on a rift in the dominant Democratic Party to win the mayoral
post as a Republican. His first three terms were marred by scandal. Twenty-two city workers
and contractors were convicted of corruption charges, including Cianci's chief of staff and city
solicitor. But the mayor was never charged.
"I knew so little," he said later. "I learned and grew in the job. "
In 1980, he ran for governor. But he was soundly defeated by Democratic incumbent Joseph
Garrahy. He returned as mayor in a subsequent election.
Personal problems sidetracked Cianci's career in 1984.
He pleaded no contest to attacking his estranged wife's alleged lover with an ashtray, lit
cigarette, and a fireplace log. As a condition of his plea deal, he was forced to resign.
Cianci took a job as a talk-radio host on a local station and regained the mayor's office in
1990. The second coming of Cianci coincided with "Providence renaissance. "
Rivers that had run through underground culverts were reclaimed. Ornate walkways and
bridges graced the rivers. Providence landed the largest mall in the region. People flocked to
a downtown that just decades ago had been a dangerous, seamy zone. The hugely popular
WaterFire display lighted up the rivers with floating braziers of crackling, burning cedar.
Cianci soaked up the notoriety. He marketed his own line of pasta sauce and became a
fixture on the national "Imus in the Morning" radio show.
But beneath the glitter, the city was rotting. Buddy's Providence was a town for sale, federal
prosecutors said, where even routine dealings with City Hall -- such as applying for jobs or
bidding on contracts -- meant greasing a few palms.
"I used my public power for personal reasons. I admit it," Cianci wrote in a 2011 memoir. "It
probably wasn't the right thing to do, but it certainly felt good. "
Cianci maintained his innocence, and appealed his conviction while incarcerated. His
appeals failed.
"I love this city. It's a very, very saddening thought to be separated from it," he told The
Associated Press the morning he left for prison. "My whole life, personally and professionally,
has revolved around it. How do you walk away from that? I'm not sure you do. ... Providence
is a part of me. "
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
January 28, 2016 @ 8:40 am Associated Press
16
White actor cast to play Michael Jackson Contact WND
(2)
(Reuters) British actor Joseph Fiennes has
been cast as iconic African-American pop star
Michael Jackson in an upcoming TV comedy,
provoking scorn on social media on Wednesday
and fueling a controversy in the entertainment
industry over opportunities for black artists.
Fiennes, who is white, will play the late “King of
Pop” in an apparently real-life story for Britain’s
satellite TV channel Sky Arts about a road trip across the United States the singer is said to
have taken in 2001 with movie stars Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando.
Sky Arts said in a statement on Wednesday that the 30-minute comedy, called “Elizabeth,
Michael & Marlon,” is “part of a series of comedies about unlikely stories from arts and cultural
history. Sky Arts gives producers the creative freedom to cast roles as they wish, within the
diversity framework which we have set.”
2016-01-28 17:06:51 www.wnd.com
17
The Latest: Michigan Senate OKs $28M to address Flint
(2)
crisis
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The latest on Flint's
water crisis and efforts to fix the problem of lead
in the drinking water(all times local):
11 a.m.
The Michigan Senate has unanimously
approved $28 million in additional funding to
address the lead contamination of Flint's water.
The emergency spending bill includes money
for more bottled water and filters and services to
monitor for developmental delays in young
children. The funds also will help the city with
unpaid water bills and cover testing, monitoring and other costs.
It is the second round of state funding allocated since the lead contamination was confirmed
in the fall.
The House is expected to send the legislation to Gov. Rick Snyder later Thursday.
State regulators permitted Flint to not treat water for corrosion after the city switched its supply
in 2014. That allowed lead from old pipes to leach into the water.
Snyder has promised to set aside more funding for Flint in his upcoming budget proposal.
___
9:10 a.m.
Tom Gores, a Flint native and owner of the Detroit Pistons, is pledging to raise $10 million to
address the short- and long-term needs of his Michigan hometown, where the drinking water
is contaminated with lead.
Gores said in a statement Thursday he has appointed two associates to raise money from
other business leaders and identify priorities in Flint.
Gores, who is chairman of Los Angeles-based Platinum Equity, also will contribute. He says
Flint once was a "cornerstone of American industry," and that people "from coast to coast"
need to step up.
Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem and Platinum Equity partner Mark Barnhill will lead the
effort.
Barnhill says the residents' immediate needs are important but that long-term opportunities in
Flint will also be explored, such as small business assistance.
___
2 a.m.
The Michigan Legislature is poised to approve $28 million in additional funding to address
the lead contamination of Flint's water.
The emergency spending bill up for final voting Thursday includes money for more bottled
water and filters and services to monitor for developmental delays in young children. The
funds also will help the city with unpaid water bills and cover testing, monitoring and other
costs.
It is the second round of state funding allocated since the lead contamination was confirmed
in the fall.
State regulators permitted Flint to not treat water for corrosion after the city switched its supply
in 2014. That allowed lead from old pipes to leach into the water.
Gov. Rick Snyder has promised to propose more funding for Flint in his upcoming budget
proposal.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
January 28, 2016 @ 8:05 am Associated Press
18
Dennis Hastert's hush-money sentencing delayed until April
(2)
CHICAGO (AP) -- A judge has agreed to delay Dennis Hastert's sentencing
in a hush-money case after his attorneys said the former U. S. House
Speaker nearly died last November.
U. S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin on Thursday set an April 8 sentencing.
Prosecutor Steven Block said the state agrees to a delay now but not indefinitely.
Hastert's attorneys last week asked the judge to delay Hastert's Feb. 29 sentencing because
of his recent hospitalization for a stroke and spinal and blood infections.
Hastert's lawyers say the 74-year-old Republican's mental state is good but that he is nearly
immobile. They also say he has been unable to prepare with them for sentencing.
Hastert has pleaded guilty to breaking banking laws as he sought to pay someone $3.5
million to conceal "prior misconduct. "
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
January 28, 2016 @ 7:44 am Associated Press
19
Man arrested with two guns near Disneyland Paris
(2)
A 28-year-old man has been arrested after he was stopped trying to enter a hotel near
Disneyland Paris with two guns in his bag.
Hotel New York’s security team stopped the man when his bag went through the X-ray
machine at the front door, French radio station France Info reported. Police then took him into
custody. A French police official said no one
had been injured in the incident.
A police source said the man was carrying two
low-calibre weapons including an automatic
handgun, a box of cartridges and a Qur’an –
details which had not yet been confirmed by
police or prosecutors. A police source told
Reuters the man arrested was a 28-year-old
European, and that a woman who was with the
man has also been arrested.
French media reported that as a precaution the man’s car had been located in the car park
and a security cordon placed around it.
Local police are currently handling the inquiry, which has not been passed to anti-terrorism
investigators.
The man was said to be trying to enter the hotel near Disneyland outside Paris to make a
reservation. French media reported that he did not appear to be known to the security
services.
Disneyland Paris remained open after the incident. The park is situated about 18 miles
(30km) east of the French capital and is the most visited theme park in Europe, with about 10
million visitors in 2014.
France remains under a state of emergency since Islamist extremist attacks around Paris
killed 130 people in November.
More details soon …
2016-01-28 17:03:22 Angelique Chrisafis
20
Eye Opener: Trump's feud with Fox News takes center stage
(2)
|Donald Trump calls his decision to boycott the
Fox News GOP debate "an eye for an eye. "
Also, U. S. scientists warn the Zika virus
outbreak could become an "explosive
pandemic. " All that and all that matters in
today's Eye Opener. Your world in 90 seconds.
2016-01-28 20:13:58 Eye Opener: Trump's feud with
Fox News takes center stage
21
EU mulls probe of UK Google tax deal as Italy investigates
(2)
A man enters an office building with small Google UK Limited sign in London, Thursday, Jan.
28, 2016. The European Union¿s competition commissioner says she would consider
investigating the 130 million pound ($186 million) deal for back taxes struck between Britain
and Google amid fury among opposition lawmakers who suggest the Internet giant should
have paid more.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
2016-01-28 16:54:00 Associated Press
22
Obama creates new cancer
task force, blessing Biden's
(2)
effort
FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016 file-pool photo, Vice
President Joe Biden points at President Barack
Obama during the president's State of the Union
address to a joint session of Congress on
Capitol Hill in Washington. President Barack
Obama is creating a new federal task force to
accelerate cancer research. He's tapping Biden
to chair the effort. Obama signed a presidential memorandum Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016,
establishing the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool,
File)
FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2013 file photo, then-Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is seen at
the Justice Department in Washington. President Barack Obama is creating a new federal
task force to accelerate cancer research. He's tapping Vice President Joe Biden to chair the
White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force. Biden's son Beau died of brain cancer last year.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
2016-01-28 16:49:00 Associated Press
23
Austrian police: Autopsy inconclusive in US woman's death
(2)
VIENNA (AP) -- Austrian police say an autopsy has not revealed the cause
of death of a 25-year old woman from Colorado whose body was found in
her Vienna apartment.
Police spokesman Thomas Keiblinger said Thursday that investigators are now awaiting the
results of toxicological tests over the next few days.
U. S. authorities have identified her as Lauren Mann.
Police and firefighters who forced open her door Tuesday evening found the half-naked body
on a mattress in the bedroom. Mann had been working as an au pair, and police were alerted
by Mann's employer after she did not show up for work.
Mann graduated in 2012 from the University of Colorado-Boulder's College of Music.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
January 28, 2016 @ 8:00 am Associated Press
24
Donald Trump scares the hell out of Fox News: Why his
(2)
debate boycott really makes the network so nervous
Topics:
Donald Trump ,
Fox News ,
Roger Ailes ,
Bill O'Reilly ,
Megyn Kelly ,
GOP primary ,
GOP debate ,
Elections 2016 , News , Politics News
Yesterday Salon’s Amanda Marcotte deftly unpacked the latest skirmish in the ongoing Fox
News/Donald Trump feud and surmised that whatever happens with the debate tonight ,
Trump will come out on top. She astutely observed that Trump refusing to debate Megyn Kelly
is not seen by his followers as an act of cowardice but an act of courage:
I would just add that in their minds it shows that The Donald is willing to fight anyone even
the media behemoth Fox News. For these people, the action is the juice. And Trump is telling
them that nobody, not even Roger Ailes, scares him. This is what he said when he
announced he would not show:
This whole thing ostensibly blew up because Trump does not like Fox News’ brightest star
Megyn Kelly and wanted her removed as one of the moderators of the debate. It was made
abundantly clear that if Fox kept Kelly on the panel there would be consequences:
Trump himself had said something similar, claiming ominously adding ,“maybe I know too
much about her.” This is patented Trump. Recall that he previously warned Hillary Clinton to
“be careful” about ever saying that he was a sexist because he would have to unleash hell on
her. (His fans adore his thuggish behavior which they euphemistically refer to as “political
incorrectness.”)
Trump had good reason to think his threat to not show up at the debate would work. After all,
the RNC removed the National Review as one of its sponsors and canceled an NBC debate
because the candidates had their feelings hurt by John Harwood and company at CNBC.
Trump had every reason to believe that when it comes to debates, “journalistic
independence” is a quaint anachronism. But he was asking for the network to humiliate its
biggest star, a woman, on his behalf and that was a bridge too far even for network chief
Roger Ailes who has benefitted hugely from the Trump phenomenon.
New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman, who has literally written the book on Ailes and Fox
and who has impeccable sources within the network, reported that Ailes himself wrote the
statement that finally made Trump pull the plug. It was a rather silly satirical note that was
apparently meant to yank The Donald’s chain. The Donald was not amused.
As of this writing Trump has announced the time and location of his counter-programmed rally
and seems to be serious about his refusal to attend. There are dozens of theories as to what
his “real game” in all this is. Some say this is an elaborate kabuki dance between Trump and
Ailes to boost ratings and they’ll mend fences “just in time.” Others say Trump is being a
typical frontrunner and avoiding the possibility of an unforced error in the last days before the
voting.
Neither of these are likely. The first would require that Roger Ailes allow himself to be
humiliated as part of the scheme and that’s not something which people who know him
believe would be very uncharacteristic. The second is not Trump’s style at all. His campaign
is clearly not playing by normal political rules. Indeed, it seems to be determined to explode
every norm it encounters. The most likely reason for this is exactly what it seems: Trump
doesn’t like debating. He’s complained about the length of them and threatened to boycott
before so his beef with Megyn Kelly gave him a good excuse to get out of this one and
dominate the news cycle in the process. And there’s nothing Ailes can do about it.
Rush Limbaugh’s rather confused ran t about Trump’s strategy shows how difficult it is for the
right wing media to explain this. But after rambling for what seemed like hours, he basically
agreed with Marcotte’s analysis:
2016-01-28 20:13:51 Heather Digby Parton
25
GCHQ's Christmas card puzzle 'not yet solved'
(2)
A series of cryptic puzzles set by spy agency
GCHQ on its Christmas card has yet to be
cracked two days before the deadline.
About 30,000 people have reached the final
stage of the challenge - roughly 5% of those
who entered - but so far no one has successfully
completed it.
GCHQ director Robert Hannigan, who set the
string of teasers, offered a clue: "It's not as
abstract as you think. "
The deadline for entries is 31 January. Answers will be revealed in February.
The first puzzle, which was printed inside the agency's card of a traditional nativity scene and
on its website , was a "nonogram" - a complex grid-shading puzzle.
When completed correctly, it created a Quick Response, or QR, code which could be
scanned to reveal a website link to the next challenge.
Nearly 600,000 people successfully completed the nonogram stage of the puzzle.
Those who enjoyed the challenge are asked to make a donation to the National Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
Robert Hannigan, director of GCHQ, said he was delighted so many people had tried the
puzzle and made a donation.
But he said: "With a few days to go no-one has cracked it all yet, so my one and only clue is:
it's not as abstract as you think.
"What I hope the stages of the puzzle show is that to deliver our mission and keep Britain
safe, we need people from all backgrounds, with all skills, who look at problems from every
angle. "
Aspiring codebreakers can have a go on the GCHQ website , and have until midnight on
Sunday to complete the challenge.
2016-01-28 20:18:00 BBC News
26
North Korea may be preparing for rocket launch - US
(2)
North Korea may be preparing a rocket launch,
US officials say, citing increased activity around
the Sohae Satellite Launching Station.
One official told the AFP news agency that the
launch might be "for a satellite or a space
vehicle".
But nothing indicated it would be for a ballistic
missile, the official added.
It comes as the UN Security Council discusses imposing fresh sanctions against North Korea
after it conducted a fourth nuclear test on 6 January.
Pyongyang said it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, but nuclear experts have
questioned the claim, saying the blast was not large enough.
On Thursday morning, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that Japanese officials were
concerned by recent activity at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, also known as
Tongchang-ri.
Analysis of satellite imagery suggested preparations were under way for a missile or rocket
launch, possibly within a week, the officials said.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency meanwhile cited a government source as saying
screens had been set up at key areas at the site, probably to deter satellite surveillance.
Later, an unnamed US official in Washington told AFP: "The indications are that they are
preparing for some kind of launch.
"Could be for a satellite or a space vehicle - there are a lot of guesses.
"North Korea does this periodically - they move things back and forth... There's nothing to
indicate it's ballistic-missile related. "
North Korea last conducted a long-range rocket launch in 2012, successfully putting into orbit
an object Pyongyang claimed was a communications satellite.
2016-01-28 20:17:43 BBC News
27
Jeremy Hunt ordered to delete 'inappropriate' tweet during
(2)
trial
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was ordered by a judge to delete a "highly inappropriate" tweet
he sent during a landmark manslaughter trial.
The minister posted a link to a news report of the Frances Cappuccini trial, saying it was a
"tragic case from which huge lessons must be learned".
Mr Justice Coulson ordered the tweet be removed immediately.
Mrs Cappuccini died after surgery following a
Caesarean birth at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in
Kent.
The tweet led the judge to bemoan there were
"no professional lawyers" in the House of
Commons.
Mr Hunt, Conservative MP for South West
Surrey, tweeted his comment on the second day
of the trial at the Inner London Crown Court.
The order compelling Mr Hunt to remove his tweet on 14 January could not be reported as the
case continued.
The judge told the court: "It is highly inappropriate for anybody to pass comment which might
be said to know the result of a trial before that result is known.
"I suppose, potentially, in a very serious case, it could be regarded as a contempt of court.
"I would hope that everybody would know that.
"Sadly, these days, many people in public life don't know that.
"These days it is hard to have the word 'tweet' without 'ill-advised' before it. "
Consultant anaesthetist Dr Errol Cornish denied manslaughter by gross negligence and
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust denied corporate manslaughter.
The case, which was halted on Wednesday , was the first corporate manslaughter
prosecution of an NHS trust.
Both the trust and Dr Cornish have been cleared.
2016-01-28 20:17:47 BBC News
28
There’s no beating Megyn Kelly: What Donald Trump should
have learned from her Fox News interview with Michael
(2)
Moore
Topics:
Fox News ,
Michael Moore ,
Megyn Kelly ,
Donald Trump ,
Editor's Picks ,
Bill O'Reilly ,
Elections 2016 , Life News , Entertainment News , Politics News
This week in the latest twist on what has already been an extremely odd GOP primary, we
learned that front-runner Donald Trump will not participate in Thursday night’s debate on Fox
News. In what might be the final straw in his peculiar political tactics, Trump claimed he
wouldn’t join the debate if Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly were a moderator. He even
taped a video saying that he was justified since everyone knew that Kelly was biased against
him.
But then it got weirder. Fox News backed Kelly and issued a statement “Capitulating to
politicians’ ultimatums about a debate moderator violates all journalistic standards.” This
from the network that has the reputation of the most biased, factually inaccurate reporting
available on television today.
In addition to Fox News posing as a real news outlet, with serious interest in reporting, they
also went after Trump with mockery and snark : “the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat
Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president. … A nefarious
source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter
followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.”
It’s important to pause and digest the absolutely odd conjunction of Fox News blustering
about its journalistic integrity and going after Trump with the sort of satirical sarcasm we get
on late night comedy treatments of Trump. If you read that statement about Putin and Twitter
followers without attribution, you might think that Stephen Colbert had penned it.
This was all the perfect setup for Michael Moore, who entered the circus performance for an
interview with Megyn Kelly to promote his new film “Where to Invade Next.”
Moore had made his mark on Fox News when he sparred with Bill O’Reilly in a famous
interview back in July of 2004 after the two crossed paths at the Democratic National
Convention and O’Reilly decided to have him on his show. The idea was to debate the claims
offered in Moore’s controversial film “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which made the case that George
Bush lied to the U. S. public when he launched the Iraq War.
While that interview was legendary, it was nothing like the Kelly interview with Moore. Moore
is an artful interviewee, using his considerable talents as a comedian to move the interviewer
off of his or her talking points. In the O’Reilly interview he kept going back to the key question:
Would you send your child to fight in Iraq?
“I would not sacrifice my child to secure Fallujah and … you would?” “I would sacrifice
myself,” O’Reilly said. “Where can we sign him up?” Moore replied, to which O’Reilly
responded, “You’d love to get rid of me.”
That exchange allowed Moore to reveal the deep contradictions in O’Reilly’s war-mongering
rhetoric. Eventually O’Reilly is revealed as all bluster, no credibility—which is pretty much the
Fox News profile.
But if Bill O’Reilly has been the “papa bear” of Fox News, it is Kelly whom the network sees
as its future. With an aging audience, Kelly is the network’s one hope of drawing in younger
viewers. Kelly’s style, though, is a hybrid. Her reporting a sort of Frankenstein. At times, she
hits hard –with her probing question on Trump’s misogyny at the first GOP debate as a prime
example. At other times, she echoes the Fox News idiocy like the time she insisted that Santa
Claus and Jesus were white.
Moore’s interview really took her down the rabbit hole, though.
In a tweet setting up his visit Moore referred to Fox News as Beelzebub’s Den and Lucifer’s
Lair. His plan, though, was to enter as an invader, a merciful one, but still an invader.
This, of course, was a reference to his new film, “Where to Invade Next,” which is already
being heralded by conservatives as an attack on the nation, more of the anti-American drivel
they expect from libtards.
Except, as the interview reveals, those ideas are fictionalizations of Moore, who is about as
patriotic as anyone could be. The only difference is that his idea of what would make America
great is not the same as that of his so-called patriotic, Tea Party detractors.
2016-01-28 20:12:33 Sophia A. McClennen
29
Legal aid reforms scrapped by Michael Gove
(2)
A major restructuring of the criminal legal aid
system in England and Wales has been
scrapped, Justice Secretary Michael Gove has
confirmed.
Mr Gove said he had "decided not to go ahead"
with plans to cut duty solicitor contracts at police
stations and magistrates' courts by two thirds.
He also suspended for 12 months a second
8.75% cut in legal aid fees.
Labour shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer said the government's plans had "descended
into utter chaos".
The proposed cuts - drawn up by former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling - would have
reduced the number of legal aid contracts from 1,600 to 527.
However, Mr Gove said there were "real problems" in pressing ahead with the proposals.
The Ministry of Justice currently faces 99 separate legal challenges, Mr Gove said in a written
ministerial statement.
"My decision is driven in part by the recognition that the litigation will be time-consuming and
costly for all parties, whatever the outcome," he said.
"I do not want my department and the legal aid market to face months if not years of
continuing uncertainty, and expensive litigation, while it is heard. "
BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the decision was "another reversal of a Chris
Grayling policy" by Mr Gove.
Mr Gove has already eased restrictions on the access to books for prisoners and reversed
previously planned cuts to barristers' fees.
Solicitors' associations had opposed the reforms to legal aid, warning the so-called "dual
contracting" system and cutting the number of contracts would lead to inadequate access to
legal advice for defendants.
A legal challenge to the reforms was heard in the High Court last year - ruling in the
government's favour .
However, Lord Falconer said the Ministry of Justice had been told the policy "would be a
disaster".
"This is a staggering admission from the Tory government and represents a final confirmation
that their plans to reform criminal legal aid have descended into utter chaos.
"The government must now come clean about how much public money has been wasted on
this doomed endeavour, so that ministers can be held fully accountable for this fiasco. "
Mark Fenhalls QC, from the Criminal Bar Association said it had been the right decision to
abandon the "flawed plans".
2016-01-28 20:18:24 BBC News
30
Bed bugs develop resistance to widely used insecticides
(2)
A new study indicates that bed bugs in the US
have developed resistance to neonicotinoids,
the most widely used insecticide in the world.
Researchers found the blood sucking insects in
Cincinnati and Michigan had "dramatic levels"
of immunity to regular doses of the chemicals.
To kill these bugs required concentrations 1,000
larger than needed to eliminate non-resistant
creatures.
The scientists say non-chemical methods of control now need to be considered.
Thanks to the increase in the global human population and the rapid expansion of
international travel, the flat bodied bed bug has become a source of considerable irritation in
hotel rooms all over the world.
Mainly active at night, the insects survive solely on blood and travellers often wake up with
bite marks and red weals all over their bodies.
Infestations have spread to homes and offices and the bugs are extremely hard to get rid off
once they gain a foothold; they can survive for up to a year without feeding and a single
fertilised female can infect an entire apartment building.
While they were a common part of life in the 1940s and 50s, the introduction of DDT and other
powerful insecticides initially restricted their populations.
However by the 1960s the insects had developed resistance. They also became resistant to
pyrethroids, the next class of chemicals used to control them.
Scientists have tried to bolster the impact of pyrethroids by mixing them with neonicotinoids.
These systemic poisons are the most widely used group of insecticides, especially in
agriculture.
They have become controversial in recent years because many scientists believe they are
having a detrimental impact on bees and other wildlife .
In this study, the researchers collected populations of bed bugs in Cincinnati and Michigan
back in 2012 and exposed them to four different neonicotinoid insecticides.
They then compared these bugs to two other laboratory colonies - one kept for 30 years
without exposure to insecticides, the other a pyrethroid-resistant group, collected in New
Jersey in 2008.
It took just 0.3 nanograms of neonics to kill more than half of the 30 year colony - but it took
around 10,000 nanograms to kill the same percentage of the recently collected insects.
Even though the New Jersey bugs were also collected before the introduction of neonics,
they still showed moderate resistance to these chemicals, leading the scientists to believe
that these insects can produce large quantities of an enzyme which helps to break down toxic
substances.
"The insects produce detoxifying enzymes, and they use them to detoxify and this is one of
the mechanisms they might be using to counter the insecticide effect," said Dr Alvaro Romero,
the lead author from New Mexico State University, speaking to BBC News.
"In this paper we found that the Jersey city and these other strains have elevated enzymes.
This is one piece of evidence that we have that these might have a role, but we need to do
more work," he added.
The researchers stress that although they have found significant levels of resistance to
neonics in two locations that doesn't mean that bed bugs all over the US and the rest of the
world are now immune from chemicals.
But they recognise that there is nothing new coming down the chemical pipeline right now.
With the short reproduction time of these insects, and their genetic ability to evolve resistance
to poisons , the scientists are urging less reliance on chemicals as a means of control.
"We need to emphasis that we need to use different tools - we can't depend totally on
chemicals we need to incorporate other alternatives," said Dr Romero.
"The pest control industry are incorporating new tools, heat, vapour, encasement, there are a
bunch of these non-chemical methods that definitely help. "
The scientists recognise and even admire the evolutionary ability of these creatures to rapidly
overcome humanity's attempts to control them.
Dr Romero says the latest research indicates that the bugs are unlikely to be effectively
controlled by chemical means in the near future.
"It's a very complex problem and we are going to have bed bugs for many years because of
this problem with insecticides and then there is a social context that makes eradication and
control very difficult. "
The paper has been published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Follow Matt on Twitter .
2016-01-28 20:18:31 BBC News
31
Will you like Facebook's new Reactions?
(2)
Do you ever "like" something on Facebook? If so, life is about to get a bit more complex.
The social networking giant is about to roll out something called Reactions, which will allow
you to express your feelings in a more nuanced fashion.
In the conference call with analysts after Facebook's blockbuster financial results, Mark
Zuckerberg confirmed that Reactions - which are being tested in Spain, Ireland and a few
other places - would be shown everywhere "pretty soon".
The idea, the chief executive said, is to add "a
little bit of complexity" to something that is very
simple. "When you only have a like button, if
you share a sad piece of content or something
that makes you angry, people may not have the
tool to react to it. "
So now Facebook users are being given new
tools in the form of emoticons labelled "love",
"haha", "wow", "sad" and "angry" - or they can
still just "like".
There was another button marked "yay" but that has been removed after pilot users
apparently said: "Err….what?? "
For more than a billion people who visit Facebook every day there may now be a tricky period
of adjustment. Do I just like that picture of your dog or do I love it? Should I go as far as telling
you I'm "angry" about your views on the issues of the day - or is "haha" enough?
But it's advertisers who will be really going "wow" about this change to the way Facebook
works. The latest results show just how much they have bought into the social network's
message that it offers a unique way to connect with consumers and learn everything about
them. Now they will have a far more complex set of data.
Simon Calvert, head of strategy at the marketing agency Lida, says if the new system
accurately reflects human emotions then it will be very interesting.
"Emotions travel five times faster than rational thought," he said. "So the ability to build better
emotional connections with consumers is something that advertisers really prize. "
Facebook "likes" have become a somewhat devalued currency, as I found out when my
Virtual Bagel imaginary business collected more than 4,000 likes from all over the world.
"They're devalued because brands collect them mindlessly," Mr Calvert explains. But he sees
advertisers using Reactions in a far more sophisticated way to get insights into the emotions
people feel about products.
Another social media marketing expert, Kristal Ireland of Twentysixdigital, says there is
always great excitement when Facebook makes a change like this. She believes there is an
opportunity to learn far more about what people think of marketing messages but says the real
challenge will be to make sense of the flood of new data: "You might end up with such
fragmented data that you can't make up your mind what your ad should look like. "
But what should we as Facebook users think about laying out our emotions for all to see?
Nick Oliver urges caution. His company People.io aims to help users take control over their
social media data and realise its value to advertisers.
"From the consumer point of view they are now giving up their emotional data for advertisers
to use and manipulate," he says. "People open themselves up on social media and the data
is used in ways they never expect. "
He argues that the rise in the use of ad blockers, which are largely ineffective on Facebook,
makes this data even more valuable. "The demand for a price of people's attention is getting
higher. "
Of course, the big question for advertisers is just how honest people will be in expressing
themselves via the Reactions buttons.
The social media era has seen millions sharing their feelings with the world - but we are
quickly learning just how dangerous that can be.
Decoding the significance of Facebook love, laughter and tears will become an essential skill
for anyone in the marketing industry.
2016-01-28 20:18:37 BBC News
32
Sale of Lloyds shares to public delayed by George Osborne
(2)
The chancellor has postponed the sale of the
government's final stake in Lloyds Banking
Group, saying the global turmoil in the markets
and slowing growth had sparked the delay.
George Osborne said that he would not give the
go-ahead until the markets had calmed, saying
that "now is not the right time".
He said he still supported encouraging wider
share ownership in Britain.
The taxpayer still owns just under 10% of the bank.
The sale of the final part of the government's stake in Lloyds was a general election pledge
made by Prime Minister David Cameron.
It was expected to raise £2bn, making it one of the largest privatisations since the 1980s
when BT and British Gas were sold, raising £3.9bn and £5.6bn respectively.
Mr Osborne announced the details of the Lloyds sale to hundreds of thousands of small
investors last October.
It was thought the sale would take place in the spring.
But since then Lloyds' share price has fallen and the trading environment for banks has
become tougher.
Low interest rates also make profits harder to come by across the sector.
In October, Lloyds share price was 78p, above the 74p considered to be the "in price" the
government paid to rescue the bank during the financial crisis - when it used billions of
pounds of tax-payers money to shore up the financial system.
That share price is now down at 64p, so the government would be selling the shares to the
public at a considerable loss.
Mr Osborne told BBC News that his "principal concern" in deciding to postpone the sale was
turbulence in the financial markets, despite "hundreds of thousands" of private investors
being "interested".
"I want to create a share owning democracy and I want to give the British people a chance to
buy shares in Lloyds bank, a bank that they had to bail out. It is also my responsibility to make
sure we have a secure and sound economy and with these turbulent financial markets it
wouldn't be right to have the Lloyds share sale now," he said.
"There will be a sale of shares [in] Lloyds but only when the time is right for people.
"We need those markets to calm down, and then we can proceed with the sale. We've got
hundreds of thousands of people interested in buying these shares, I want to sell them the
shares, but it wouldn't be right to undertake that sale when frankly things are pretty turbulent
out there on the stock markets and the global financial markets. "
September 2008: Lloyds takes on collapsed bank HBOS
October 2008: Labour government reveals it has bailed out Lloyds, taking a stake of 43%
April 2010: Lloyds announces a profit for the first time since the crisis
September 2013: Coalition government starts return of the bank to the private sector, selling
part of its stake to major institutional investors
October 2015: Conservative government says it will sell its final stake in Lloyds with shares
offered to private investors
January 2016: Chancellor George Osborne says the sale is being delayed owing to turbulent
markets
On Wednesday, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced billions of pounds of new
provisions to pay for fines and legal actions connected to the financial crisis.
Its share price has also fallen.
The government owns 73% of RBS and just under 10% of Lloyds. It does not look like it will
be selling either stake any time soon.
Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "This will be a big disappointment
for the hundreds of thousands of investors who had queued up for a chunk of Lloyds, but
taking a big loss on selling shares when markets are low was always going to be a bridge too
far for the chancellor.
"The timetable for the share sale has always been vague being 'spring' of 2016. The
government are looking to obtain a good price for the remaining 10% of the Lloyds Banking
Group they own and timing to get the best value around issues such as the Budget, financial
and tax year end and Lloyd's own financial calendar was always going to be tricky.
"Market volatility in recent months has seen UK stock market values fall by around 20% since
the April 2015 high, so its understandable that the share sale is being delayed. "
This decision comes after sales of publicly-owned assets, including Royal Mail and Eurostar,
raised more money for the government in 2015 than any other year in history, according to
new analysis by the Press Association.
A total of £26.4bn was made through privatisations, beating by almost £6m the previous
record set in 1987.
2016-01-28 20:18:43 BBC News
33
Zika virus: Up to four million Zika cases predicted
(2)
Three to four million people could be infected with Zika in the Americas this year, the World
Health Organization predicts.
Most will not develop symptoms, but the
infection has been linked to brain defects in
babies.
WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan said
Zika had gone "from a mild threat to one of
alarming proportions".
She has set up a Zika "emergency team" after
the "explosive" spread of the virus.
It will meet on Monday to decide whether Zika should be treated as a global emergency.
The last time an international emergency was declared was for the Ebola outbreak in West
Africa which has killed more than 11,000 people.
Zika: What you need to know
Zika was first detected in Uganda in 1947, but has never caused an outbreak on this scale.
Brazil reported the first cases of Zika in South America in May 2015.
Most cases result in no symptoms and it is hard to test for, but WHO officials said between
500,000 and 1.5 million people had been infected in the country.
The virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, has since spread to more than 20 countries in the
region.
At the same time there has been a steep rise in levels of microcephaly - babies born with
abnormally small heads - and the rare nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The link between the virus and these disorders has not been confirmed, but Dr Chan said it
was "strongly suspected" and was "deeply alarming".
And she warned the situation could yet deteriorate as "this year's El Nino weather patterns
are expected to increase mosquito populations greatly in many areas".
The BBC's David Shukman, reporting from Recife in north-east Brazil , said doctors were
"overwhelmed" by cases of microcephaly.
One hospital in the city had gone from dealing with an average of five cases a year to 300 in
the past six months.
Earlier, doctors writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association said Zika had
"explosive pandemic potential" and said the WHO's failure to act swiftly on Ebola probably
cost thousands of lives.
In a statement to the executive board meeting of the WHO, Dr Chan said: "The level of
concern is high, as is the level of uncertainty.
"Questions abound - we need to get some answers quickly.
"For all these reasons, I have decided to convene an Emergency Committee.
"I am asking the Committee for advice on the appropriate level of international concern and
for recommended measures that should be undertaken in affected countries and elsewhere. "
Dr Carissa Etienne, the regional-director for the WHO Pan American Health Organization,
said the link between the abnormalities and Zika had not been confirmed.
But she added: "We cannot tolerate the prospect of more babies being born with neurological
and other malformations and more people facing the threat of paralysis. "
Follow James on Twitter.
Zika: What you need to know
'The worst day of my life'
2016-01-28 20:18:44 BBC News
34
“If Donald Trump thinks Megyn Kelly is a lightweight, then
why is he scared of her?”: Trevor Noah asks the key
(2)
question about the Fox News debate
Topics:
Video ,
Megyn Kelly ,
Trevor Noah ,
daily show with trevor noah ,
Donald Trump ,
fox news gop debate ,
Republican debate ,
2016 Republican primary , Elections News , Entertainment News , Politics News
Donald Trump is skipping the Fox News debate and going after Fox News. Trump and Megyn
Kelly have had a long history since Kelly had the temerity to ask if Trump’s disparaging
comments about women disqualified him from the presidency. “”Hell yes, it does,” said
millions of Americans,” Noah said. As the news has said all day, this is the “tough, but fair”
question that has made Kelly “one of the most fearsome anchors out there.” But Trump isn’t
afraid. At least, he said so on Twitter so it must be true:
“Nicely done, Donald Trump, nicely done,” Noah said. “It’s the same way we won’t call you an
asshole, we too are constrained by political correctness…. Asshole. Now, Trump is entitled to
his crazy opinion, but it raises the question, if he thinks Megyn Kelly is a lightweight, then why
is he scared of her?”
2016-01-28 20:12:45 Sarah Burris
35
Kirsty Gallacher shows off incredible figure in skimpy white
(2)
bikini
Sea-sational! Kirsty Gallacher served up quite the revealing display as she stripped down to a
skimpy bikini for the new Champneys Detox range
Water goddess: Channelling her inner Ursula Andress, the brunette stunner looked
absolutely incredible as she emerged from the water with large seashells in her hands
Sizzling display: She proudly showcased her
toned curves and slender frame in a replica of
the sizzling white belted two-piece made
famous by the iconic James Bond star (pictured
on the right)
A beauty: With her long tresses left loose in wet
tousled waves, Kirsty’s striking facial features
were clearly visible, made-up with smoky
eyewear, rosy cheeks and plush pink lips
Daring to bare: The TV star also sported a seaweed inspired bikini
Latest venture: Commenting on the new spa range, Kirsty explained, ‘I’m a big advocate of
detoxing from skin to soul and swear by the Champneys Detox range to revive and renew'
2016-01-28 16:23:00 Sharnaz Shahid for MailOnline
36
Women suicide bombers kill four in north Cameroon
(2)
Security forces transport with a blanket the
remains of some of the eleven victims of a
double blast in the northern Cameroonian city of
Maroua on July 22, 2015
Cameroon security forces speak with locals
after a twin suicide attack in the extreme north
village of Kolofata on September 13, 2015 ©(AFP/File)
Cameroonian soldiers stand post in the town of
Fotokol, on the border with Nigeria, after clashes with Boko Haram insurgents on February
17, 2015 ©Reinnier Kaze (AFP/File)
2016-01-28 16:15:00 Afp
37
US STOCKS-Wall St slightly higher; biotechs cap gains
(2)
By
Reuters
Published:
16:12 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
16:12 GMT, 28 January 2016
By Abhiram Nandakumar
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street was slightly higher in
volatile trading on Thursday as a decline in biotech stocks
offset gains in energy shares.
The Nasdaq biotech sector was down 3.5 percent, with
Celgene's 4.8 percent fall weighing the most.
Incyte's 11 percent drop also dragged the index
lower, after the company said it would stop a mid-stage study on
a key cancer treatment.
Crude rose as much as 6 percent earlier on speculation that
Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries would cut output to boost
prices.
"Oil's been firmly in control of the market," said Kim
Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital
Group in Pittsburgh.
"I think what oil has become is a proxy for 'are we going
into a recession?'," she said.
At 11:05 a.m. ET (1605 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial
average was up 33.83 points, or 0.21 percent, at
15,978.29, the S&P 500 was up 7.47 points, or 0.4
percent, at 1,890.42 and the Nasdaq Composite index was
up 34.00 points, or 0.76 percent, at 4,502.17.
Six of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, led by the 2.15
percent fall in health stocks.
Abbott Labs was down 8.8 percent at $36.94 after it
reported a drop in revenue. The stock was the biggest drag on
the healthcare sector.
Facebook surged 12.2 percent to $106.23 after the
world's biggest social network reported a 52 percent jump in
revenue.
The U. S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on
Wednesday and said it was "closely monitoring" global economic
and financial developments, while keeping an optimistic view of
the U. S. economy.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,081
to 847. On the Nasdaq, 1,582 issues rose and 993 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed four new 52-week highs and 20 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 12 new highs and 115 new lows.
(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
2016-01-28 16:12:00 Reuters
38
Russia expects to offer VEB no more than 200 bln roubles
(2)
in aid in...
By
Reuters
Published:
16:07 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
16:07 GMT, 28 January 2016
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Russian
government's support for state development bank VEB is estimated
at no more than 200 billion roubles ($2.61 billion) this year,
Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told reporters on Thursday,
suggesting the government would dole out as little as it can.
"If one is talking about this year, the need is around 150
to 200 billion roubles," Ulyukayev said.
The assistance is expected to come from the state budget, he
said. The government does not expect to issue rouble-denominated
bonds to support the ailing bank in 2016, he said.
Russian authorities had said previously they were
considering as much as 1.2 trillion roubles ($15.2 billion) of
aid for VEG. But they left unclear what period of time that
would cover.
The finance ministry is reluctant to provide large-scale
assistance when the national budget is already under severe
strain because of a slump in global oil prices.
"First of all we have to understand the size of the problems
​ Only then can we determine the specific amount of support,"
Ulyukayev said. "If we see that VEB's resources aren't enough,
then we will lend a shoulder: we will consider support from the
budget. "
A support plan developed by the finance ministry also
involved working with the bank's assets and costs, he said, and
included meeting its liabilities in full.
VEB has long been used to finance unprofitable politically
inspired projects, such as infrastructure for the 2014 Winter
Olympics in the Russian resort of Sochi.
It now finds itself saddled with toxic assets totalling more
than $12.6 billion, according to analysts, and is at risk of
failing to meet its foreign debt repayments, including about
$900 million due this year.
($1 = 76.6055 roubles)
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Jason Bush; Editing
by Larry King)
2016-01-28 16:07:00 Reuters
39
Three-year-old girl found unconscious inside a snowed-in
(2)
car has died
Saniyah Bonilla, three (right), the girl found
unconscious inside a snowed-in car alongside
the bodies of mother Sasha, 23, and one-yearold brother Messiah (both pictured) has also
died
Sasha, Saniyah and Messiah had gone out on
Sunday to help father Felix dig their car out of a
snow drift following storm Jonas, but climbed
into the vehicle and turned the engine on after
getting cold
Authorities believe that carbon monoxide fumes were pushed into the cabin of the car
(pictured) because the tail pipe was still blocked with snow
Father Felix carried on shoveling snow for ten minutes before looking inside the vehicle to
find his entire family unconscious inside, according to emergency crews
The family were taken to hospital on Sunday where Messiah and Sasha were pronounced
dead on arrival. Medics said Saniyah was in a 'very critical' condition before passing away
yesterday afternoon
Carbon monoxide poisoning is also thought to be behind the death of Brooklyn man Angel
Ginel, 44, who was found unresponsive inside his snow-covered vehicle with the engine still
running on Tuesday
2016-01-28 16:04:00 Chris Pleasance For Dailymail.com
40
Putting tip works for Lawrie at Qatar Masters
(2)
By
Associated Press
Published:
16:00 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
16:00 GMT, 28 January 2016
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Paul Lawrie benefited from a putting tip off a friend in shooting a 6under 66 at the Qatar Masters, giving the former British Open champion a one-shot lead after
the second round on Thursday.
The 47-year-old Lawrie followed up a first-round 67 to move to 11-under par, a stroke clear of
Nicolas Colsaerts (68).
Lawrie missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week and was given some putting advice from fellow
Scottish player Marc Warren, who said Lawrie's stroke was too long and slow.
"I've been working on it the last couple of days and certainly feels as though I've got it," said
Lawrie, who rolled in seven birdies on Thursday and has 13 in all this week as he bids to win
the event for a third time.
Joint first-round leaders Louis Oosthuizen (73) and Pablo Larrazabal (72) dropped off the
leaderboard, while Sergio Garcia was in a five-way tie for sixth place after a 66 that included
a long putt for birdie on No. 8. It prompted Garcia to dance a jig of delight on the green.
"I don't know if they were dance moves. They were like jabs," said Garcia, the 2014
champion. "When we got to the ninth tee, I said to my caddie and to the guys, 'I think that
celebration is going to look a little bit funny on TV.'"
Matthew Fitzpatrick, Stephen Gallacher, and Matteo Manassero were among those to miss
the cut.
Lawrie is making his 16th appearance in Qatar. He won the event in 1999 and 2012, before
going on to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup the same year.
Lawrie went out in the morning and avoided the worst of the windy conditions. Starting on the
back nine, he birdied Nos. 10 and 12 and responded to a bogey at No. 15 by picking up more
shots on the 16th and 18th holes. More birdies came on the fourth, seventh and ninth holes.
"I got a little frustrated after No. 15 because I thought, 'You are not taking advantage of the
conditions,'" Lawrie said.
2016-01-28 16:00:00 Associated Press
41
Iranian president hails 'new relationship' with France
(2)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrives at the Invalides following his official welcoming
ceremony in Paris, on January 28, 2016 ©Michel Euler (Pool/AFP)
An Iranian couple passing by a French Peugeot 307, produced by Iranian "Iran Khodro"
company, during a 2004 car fair in Tehran ©Behrouz Mehri (AFP/File)
CEO of European aerospace giant Airbus
Group Thomas Enders (L) shakes hands with
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani(R) ©Eric
Fefferberg (AFP)
French oil giant Total Chief Executive Officer,
Patrick Pouyanne (L) shakes hands with Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani on January 28,
2016 during a meeting in Paris ©Eric Fefferberg
(AFP)
2016-01-28 16:00:00 Afp
42
China charges Canadian with spying, stealing state secrets(2)
Xinhua
By
Reuters
Published:
15:57 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
15:57 GMT, 28 January 2016
TORONTO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A Canadian citizen detained by
China since 2014 has been indicted on charges of spying and
stealing state secrets, the Xinhua state news agency reported on
Thursday.
Kevin Garratt was detained near China's sensitive border
with North Korea where he operated a coffee house with his wife,
who was released last year. The Canadian government has raised
concerns about Garratt's detention with Chinese officials but
has not been able to secure his release.
(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
2016-01-28 15:57:00 Reuters
43
US monitoring Iraq's largest dam for signs of collapse
(2)
A general view shows the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River ©Ahmad al-Rubaye (AFP/File)
The Islamic State jihadist group seized the Mosul Dam briefly in 2014, leading to a lapse in
maintenance that weakened an already flawed structure ©K. Tian/A. Bommenel (AFP)
2016-01-28 15:50:00 Afp
44
No bomb found on plane at
Cairo airport after threat (2)
sources
By
Reuters
Published:
15:45 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
15:45 GMT, 28 January 2016
CAIRO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Egyptian security has found
nothing suspicious on board a passenger plane that was held up
for searches at Cairo airport on Thursday afternoon following a
bomb threat, security sources said.
The EgyptAir plane had been due to depart for Istanbul at
1355 (1155 GMT) but was halted after the threat was passed on to
Egyptian authorities by a foreign embassy, the sources said.
The passengers were evacuated and the plane isolated while
the search was conducted. Security sources said the checks had
been completed and nothing suspicious had been found.
Egypt is under pressure to bolster airport security after a
Russian plane crashed in late October in the Sinai, killing all
224 passengers on board and damaging the country's tourism
industry.
Egypt has hired global consultancy Control Risks to review
security at its airports.
The Egyptian-led investigation team says it has found no
evidence so far of terrorism or other illegal action linked to
the October crash, but Russia said in November that the jet was
brought down by a bomb.
Islamic State, the militant group that has seized swathes of
territory in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility and said it
had smuggled a bomb on board hidden in a soft drink can.
(Reporting by Abdel Nasser Abou El Fadhl and Ahmed Mohamed
Hassan; Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
2016-01-28 15:45:00 Reuters
45
A coffee named 'Death Wish' wins a Super Bowl commercial
(2)
In this Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, photo, provided
by QuickBooks, Michael Brown, owner of Death
Wish Coffee Company, poses for a picture
during Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Big
Game finalists tour, in Round Lake, N. Y. Death
Wish Coffee Co. won a competition held by
software maker Intuit for a 30-second spot
during the third quarter of the Super Bowl on
Feb. 7, 2016. The Round Lake, N. Y., company
beat more than 15,000 companies in voting by
the public and Intuit employees. (Hans Pennink/QuickBooks via AP)
2016-01-28 15:43:00 Associated Press
46
S. Africa raises key interest rate even as growth slows
(2)
Economic woes have piled up in recent months
for South Africa, with the International Monetary
Fund slashing its latest growth forecast by
almost half to 0.7 percent ©Rajesh Jantilal
(AFP/File)
Pravin Gordhan, the new finance minister, has
vowed to impose strict expenditure limits to
stabilise the economy ©Saul Loeb (AFP/File)
2016-01-28 15:40:00 Afp
47
Islamic State claims Aden suicide car bombing that kills 7
(2)
By
Reuters
Published:
15:32 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
15:32 GMT, 28 January 2016
ADEN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants claimed
responsibility for a suicide car bombing on Thursday that killed
seven people outside Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Rabbu
Hadi's residence in the southern city of Aden.
Local officials and eyewitnesses reported the death toll and
said 10 other people were injured. Officials said Hadi was
inside his residence at the time of the attack and was unharmed.
"A suicide car bomb targeted a security checkpoint about 500
metres (yards) from the Maashiq palace. The majority of the
casualties are civilians," an official told Reuters by
telephone.
It was the latest in a spate of deadly attacks by Islamist
militants on Yemeni government and security targets.
In a statement online, Islamic State said the attack was
carried out by a suicide car bomber it identified as Abu Hanifa
al-Hollandi. The nom de guerre suggested the attacker was a
Dutch citizen.
Hadi was forced by Shi'ite Houthi rebels to flee the capital
Sanaa in 2014 and is now based in Aden, Yemen's second largest
city, where his embattled government is trying to project its
authority after its loyalists, backed by Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab
forces, seized it back in July.
Backed by a Saudi-led military alliance of Arab states,
Hadi's forces have been battling the Iran-allied Houthi militia
and followers of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who are
based in Sanaa. The war has killed 6,000 people.
Islamic State insurgents have also stepped up operations,
emerging as a forceful rival to Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula, which has been the main Islamist militant group in
the country in recent years.
Suicide bombers from Islamic State killed 15 people in an
attack on a hotel housing the government in Aden and seven at a
Houthi-run mosque in Sanaa on Oct. 5.
Dozens of armoured vehicles and troops from the United Arab
Emirates arrived in Aden's port on Wednesday, security officials
said, as part of a plan to tackle security chaos.
(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf, Mohammed Ghobari, Hadeel Al
Sayegh and Lin Noueihed; Writing by Noah Browning; Editing by
Mark Heinrich)
2016-01-28 15:32:00 Reuters
48
Apple recalls adapters over electric shock risk
(2)
Apple has said that the adapters (pictured) have
been known to break and create a risk of shock,
but this is 'very rare' and there have only been
12 incidents reported worldwide. The plugs are
designed for use in Argentina, Australia, Brazil,
Continental Europe, New Zealand and South
Korea
Customers will need to verify their Mac, iPad,
iPhone or iPod serial number as part of the
exchange process. They can then request a
replacement online or via an Apple Store. The recall does not affect any other Apple AC wall
plug adapters designed for Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, United Kingdom or US
2016-01-28 15:29:00 Victoria Woollaston for MailOnline
49
The Latest: WHO warns Zika could spread to China
(2)
An Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed
through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in
Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Wednesday,
Jan. 27, 2016. The mosquito is a vector for the
proliferation of the Zika virus currently spreading
throughout Latin America. New figures from
Brazil's Health Ministry show that the Zika virus
outbreak has not caused as many confirmed
cases of a rare brain defect as first feared. (AP
Photo/Felipe Dana)
Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz institute in Recife,
Pernambuco state, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. The mosquito is a vector for the
proliferation of the Zika virus currently spreading throughout Latin America. New figures from
Brazil's Health Ministry show that the Zika virus outbreak has not caused as many confirmed
cases of a rare brain defect as first feared. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
2016-01-28 15:28:00 Associated Press
50
Panda cubs can't contain their excitement as they play in
(2)
the snow
Winter wonderland: Fun-loving cubs at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the
Giant Panda could not get enough of the snowy conditions when they were allowed out to
play earlier today
Cool: The stunning young animals were seen rolling, climbing and swinging as they frolicked
in the white stuff in their play pen in Chengdu
Snow day: The baby pandas must have felt like
they were back in their natural habitat, seeking
out all sorts of fun adventures as they made the
most of the winter conditions
Endangered: The giant panda is an extremely
rare species, inhabiting mountain ranges in the
Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces of
China
Peek-a-boo: This panda made his own fun, parking himself inside the middle of two old tyres
and playing a game of hide and seek
Now you see me, now you don't: The baby Giant Panda was having a superb time, ducking in
and out of the tyres and covering himself in snow
Game on: One of the bears even picked up a big brown ball - before realising it was hardly
the ideal day for a kick-about
On my head: This panda is clearly loving his freedom. He was seen patting and heading his
ball around a wooden log surface
Arctic adventure: When all of the ball play got too much, this little cub decided he would head
for new heights, finding his feet holding onto a bamboo fence
Rare: With a population of less than 2000, the species is included on the endangered list by
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and
is protected by China’s Wildlife Protective Law as the special-class protected animal
2016-01-28 15:22:00 Euan McLelland For MailOnline
51
Russia says Saudis proposing 5 percent global oil cut
(2)
By
Reuters
Published:
15:21 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
15:21 GMT, 28 January 2016
By Darya Korsunskaya and Rania El Gamal
ST PETERSBURG, Russia/DUBAI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Russia said
on Thursday that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia had proposed global
oil production cuts of up to 5 percent in what would be the
first universal deal in over a decade to help clear a glut of
crude and prop up sinking prices.
Benchmark Brent futures jumped as much as 8 percent
to nearly $36 a barrel on news of the potential deal, which if
implemented would immediately reduce surplus global output
exceeding demand by 1 million barrels per day (bpd).
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Saudi Arabia
had proposed that oil-producing countries cut production by up
to 5 percent, which for Russia - the world's top producer would represent around 500,000 bpd.
"Indeed, these parameters were proposed, to cut production
by each country by up to 5 percent," Novak said. "This is a
subject for discussions, it's too early to talk about. "
Novak also told reporters there was a proposal for a meeting
between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
and non-OPEC nations at the oil minister level and that Russia
was ready for such talks.
"There are lots of questions about the oversight over cuts,"
he added.
Oil sank to 12-year lows around $27 a barrel earlier this
month, from as high as $115 some 18 months ago, on the back of a
U. S. shale oil boom and a decision by OPEC to pump more to fight
for market share against higher-cost producers.
The repercussions of oil's plunge are huge, with some
oil-rich nations forced to devalue their currencies - Russia's
rouble hit an all-time low. Street protests have flared in
Azerbaijan and markets remain jittery over a potential default
by OPEC member Venezuela.
Saudi Arabian officials did not immediately comment on the
proposal but a senior Gulf OPEC delegate said: "Gulf OPEC
countries and Saudi Arabia are willing to cooperate for any
action to stabilise the international oil market. "
"You have to take this seriously now. Key will be if Russia
can deliver," said Gary Ross, a veteran OPEC watcher and founder
of U. S.-based Pira group.
Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group, said the
proposed cuts were unlikely to happen.
"There have been attempts in the past that have come to
(nothing). Saying something about the oil price and doing
something are very different things, and it seems like panic
given the price drop. "
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin;
Editing by Dale Hudson and Christian Lowe)
2016-01-28 15:21:00 Reuters
52
Britain to take in unaccompanied refugee children from
(2)
conflict areas
By
Reuters
Published:
15:14 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
15:14 GMT, 28 January 2016
By Alex Whiting
LONDON, Jan 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain will
take in some unaccompanied refugee children from Syria, North
Africa and other conflict areas, the Home Office (interior
ministry) said on Thursday, but it did not say how many.
This is in addition to the 20,000 Syrian refugees the
government has pledged to take in by 2020. More than 1,000 of
them - around half of them children - have already been
resettled in Britain under this scheme, the government says.
The Home Office said it would work with the U. N. refugee
agency (UNHCR) to identify particularly vulnerable children,
though the government has said the majority of refugee children
are better off staying in their region of origin so they can be
reunited with their families.
"The crisis in Syria and events in the Middle East, North
Africa and beyond have separated a large number of refugee
children from their families," Immigration Minister James
Brokenshire said in a statement.
"... we have asked the UNHCR to identify the exceptional
cases where a child's best interests are served by resettlement
to the UK and help us to bring them here," Brokenshire said.
Aid agencies cautiously welcomed the announcement.
"The UK has a responsibility to protect vulnerable
children, it is absolutely right that the government is
committed to resettle unaccompanied children from conflict
regions," the U. N. children's agency UNICEF said.
Tanya Barron, CEO of children's charity Plan UK, said: "Any
and all help for children who have been separated from their
families by the war in Syria should be encouraged.
"In many cases, they are traumatised having seen their homes
destroyed and loved ones killed or injured. These children
urgently need help to try and rebuild their shattered lives. "
UNICEF said there were tens of thousands of unaccompanied
refugee children, many of whom had relatives in the United
Kingdom.
They should be given information about their right to family
reunification and how to claim it, the agency said.
(Reporting by Alex Whiting, editing by Tim Pearce.; Please
credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of
Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights,
trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
2016-01-28 15:14:00 Reuters
53
EU says has no plan to review British VAT exemptions
(2)
By
Reuters
Published:
15:08 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
15:08 GMT, 28 January 2016
By Francesco Guarascio
BRUSSELS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The European Union plans to
review and simplify value-added tax (VAT) across the 28-nation
bloc but has no immediate plans to propose ending VAT exemptions
on various products in Britain, the EU's top tax official said
on Thursday.
Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told a news
conference that the executive European Commission's aim was to
have a "definitive" VAT regime for the bloc, but noted that all
decisions in this area had to be taken unanimously.
He had sparked controversy on Wednesday when, asked about
potential changes to "zero rate" VAT, applied on items in
Britain including food, books and children's clothes, he said
the Commission would have to "have to reassess everything".
Moscovici said that while no change had been proposed, a
"zero rate is not the best idea". That gave ammunition to
Eurosceptics as Prime Minister David Cameron prepares to call a
referendum on Britain's continued membership of the bloc.
Asked about his remarks on Thursday, Moscovici was quick to
explain no plan to scrap Britain's exemptions was in the works.
"I never said that. What I said is that we have reaffirmed
our intention to bring forward legislative VAT simplification
measures to help small e-commerce business, in particular to
operate cross borders," he said.
"We want also to move forward with the comprehensive package
to simplify VAT for SMEs as part of our 2016 VAT action plan
which will set a definite regime of VAT in the EU. "
"It is far to early to talk about what proposals may emerge
from the review and in any case any decision in this area
requires unanimity by member states," Moscovici said.
That would give Britain -- and Ireland, which also
zero-rates many items -- a veto on any plan to end these
historic exceptions to the 5 percent minimum introduced in the
1990s.
Last year, anti-EU campaigners seized on the government's
inability to waive VAT on tampons due to EU rules to call for
"Brexit" in the vote that could come as soon as June.
Eurosceptic party UKIP criticised Moscovici's remarks from
Wednesday. "The EU wants full political and eventually fiscal
union and by taking away Britain's zero VAT rating... they are
being entirely consistent with their own logic," spokeswoman
Diane James said.
Several states have pressed the Commission to review the VAT
system, partly due to technological developments.
Last year, EU judges ruled that ebooks could not benefit
from lower VAT charged on paper equivalents because they were
not enshrined in a law drawn up before they were invented.
EU states must levy VAT of at least 15 percent, but can go
as low as 5 percent on items on the EU "reduced rate" list.
Moscovici said on Wednesday the EU could draw up a new list
or states could be allowed to draft their own, which would give
them more leeway to apply a lower tax rate on certain goods.
(Editing by Catherine Evans)
2016-01-28 15:08:00 Reuters
54
Rightwing Israeli group accused of McCarthyism over anti(2)
artist campaign
Some of Israel’s most prominent artists have
been described as “leftwing moles” by a far-right
group at the forefront of a growing campaign
targeting activists and cultural figures perceived
as being disloyal.
The billboard campaign by Im Tirtzu denounces
figures – including two of Israel’s most
internationally recognisable writers, Amoz Oz
and David Grossman – as “infiltrators inside
[Israeli] culture”.
It follows the recent release of a video by the group that accused leftwing NGO workers of
being foreign agents.
The move – denounced as reminiscent of the US senator Joseph McCarthy’s anticommunist
witch-hunt in the 1950s – comes amid a wider campaign of pressure , including by
government ministers, against groups and individuals regarded as critical of Israel.
A bill backed by Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, aims to compel Israeli human
rights groups critical of Israel to disclose foreign government funding. The legislation, which
would not apply to rightwing NGOs, has already been condemned by EU officials as
potentially threatening to free speech.
Israel’s culture minister, Miri Regev, is seeking to limit government funding of the arts only to
groups “loyal to the state”. Regev was booed while outlining the bill at Israel’s national theatre
on Wednesday.
Im Tirtzu director Matan Peleg echoed some of Regev’s sentiments. “We’re sick of funding
‘artists’ who support mole organisations. This is disregard for the state of Israel and its
values,” he said.
“Every time publicly elected officials in the state of Israel try to undertake the task they were
given in the most democratic and legitimate way by the people, we encounter an automatic
smear campaign by ‘people of culture’ who try to paint themselves as enlightened, as
progressive and as ‘knowing better’ than the public.”
Cultural figures and politicians, including some from the political right, have criticised Im
Tirtzu’s billboard initiative.
Israel’s opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, said: “The creative treasure of Israel’s artists and
writers will survive forever. This Israeli McCarthyism and the losers spearheading it will
disappear just like it did in the US. The question is when, and what will it cost us.”
Actor Sarit Vino-Elad, one of those on Im Tirtzu’s list, told Israeli television she feared the
consequences of the campaign. “I’m sure that all of this will end in violence somehow – we
are not far away from that at all,” she said.
The Im Tirtzu camapign coincides with moves backed by the justice minister, Ayelet Shaked,
the education minister, Naftali Bennett, and Regev. The timing has raised suspicions among
some Israelis that the moves may be connected, and one Israeli MP has written to the
attorney general asking him to investigate any links.
Benny Begin, son of the former Israeli PM Menachim Begin and a prominent MP in
Netanyahu’s party, denounced Im Tirtzu’s campaign as “fascist”.
He said: “This new activity of the Im Tirtzu denouncing ‘moles in culture’ marks a new record
for ugliness, surpassing the film about moles in leftwing organisations. This is an attempt to
plant the word ‘mole’ in the public’s mind as a synonym for traitor.
“Seeking out, locating and labelling ostensible traitors is an ancient fascist symptom. It is both
ugly and dangerous.”
As the row grew on Thursday, Netanyahu felt compelled to intervene, saying: “I object to the
use of the term ‘traitor’ for those who don’t agree with me.”
Im Tirtzu is no stranger to allegations of fascism. In 2013 a Jerusalem court ruled in favour of
leftwing activists who had been sued for calling the group fascist, adding that they could use
defences of freedom of speech and “spoken truth”.
2016-01-28 14:58:36 Peter Beaumont
55
US STOCKS-Wall St rises as oil soars on hopes of output
(2)
cut
By
Reuters
Published:
14:49 GMT, 28 January 2016
| Updated:
14:49 GMT, 28 January 2016
By Abhiram Nandakumar
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street was higher on Thursday
morning, tracking a surge in crude oil prices, a day after the
U. S. Federal Reserve gave little indication of slowing the pace
of future rate hikes.
Crude was up nearly 6 percent after Russian officials
decided to talk to Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries about
cutting output to boost prices.
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged and said it was
"closely monitoring" global economic and financial developments,
while keeping an optimistic view of the U. S. economy.
U. S. stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday, with the S&P
500 falling more than 1 percent, after the Fed's statement
failed to impress some investors.
"The Fed meeting caused some kind of a knee-jerk reaction
and the markets need a bit of time to digest what happened
yesterday," said Khaldoon Ibrahim, chief executive of
MarketsCompass.com, a trading advisory website.
The central bank and investors will now keep a keen eye on
economic data and assess corporate earnings reports to gauge the
impact from the global turmoil.
"Earnings have been generally good, but the outlook for the
second quarter is not good, and that is what is spooking
people," said Phil Davis, chief executive of Philstockworld.com.
Data on Thursday showed durable goods orders fell 5.1
percent in December, widely missing expectations of a 0.6
percent decline, while jobless claims fell more than expected to
278,000 last week.
At 9:35 a.m. ET (1435 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average
was up 113.34 points, or 0.71 percent, at 16,057.8, the
S&P 500 was up 17.82 points, or 0.95 percent, at 1,900.77
and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 59.12 points, or
1.32 percent, at 4,527.29.
Nine of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher, led by the
3.55 percent rise in energy stocks.
Caterpillar was up 6.1 percent at $61.86, while
Under Armour soared 17 percent to $80.50 after both
companies reported better-than-expected profit.
Facebook surged 13.4 percent to $107.07 after the
world's biggest social network reported a 52 percent jump in
revenue.
EBay sank 10.6 percent to $23.62 after it forecast
weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit.
PayPal, which was spun-off from eBay last year, was
up 8.2 percent at $34.14 after its revenue beat estimates.
Juniper Networks was down 11.5 percent at $23.50
and Qualcomm was off 3.6 percent at $45.78 after both
companies issued grim forecasts, prompting a slew of rating
downgrades.
Tech heavyweights Microsoft and Amazon are
among companies due to report results after the close.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,347
to 316. On the Nasdaq, 1,794 issues rose and 416 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed no new 52-week highs and seven new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded four new highs and 21 lows.
(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
2016-01-28 14:49:00 Reuters
56
Self-driving electric shuttle bus tested for use on roads in
(2)
Netherlands – video
A self-driving electric shuttle bus, called a
WEpod, is unveiled in Gelderland, Netherlands,
on Thursday. There are already self-driving
vehicles such as the Rotterdam Rivium shuttle
bus and the Heathrow shuttles in London, but
those vehicles operate on dedicated lanes. In
Gelderland, the WEpods will be mixing with
regular traffic
Source: Provincie Gelderland
Thursday 28 January 2016 14.38 GMT
Last modified on Thursday 28 January 2016 14.51 GMT
2016-01-28 14:38:40 Source: Provincie Gelderland
57
2016 Olympic torch bearer will be a refugee, Olympic
(2)
committee says
The 2016 Olympic flame will pass through a refugee
camp in Athens on its way to Rio de Janeiro, and one
refugee will be among the torch bearers, the head of
the International Olympic Committee said.
The torch will be lit in Greece's ancient Olympia on
April 21 before leaving for the South American country
12 days later.
It will arrive in Brazil on May 3 to start its 100-day relay
across the country.
Greece became the main gateway for more than a
million refugees who began arriving in Europe last
year, most fleeing war and persecution in countries like
Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The Olympic flame will pass through this camp here and will be shown to the refugees," IOC
head Thomas Bach said during a visit to the Eleonas camp for refugees and migrants in
Athens, which houses mostly Afghans and Iranians. "One of the refugees will be invited to
carry the torch. "
The IOC has already said top athletes who are refugees with no home country to represent
will be allowed to compete at the Rio Games under the Olympic flag.
"We want to draw the attention of the world to the problems of the refugees," Bach said. How
many refugees might take part was difficult to estimate, he said, "but it would not be a big
number... between five to 10. "
Refugees at the Games will march behind the Olympic committees flag and will be hosted at
the Olympic Village, he said.
"These athletes we are talking about have no national committee, they have no home and
they have no flag to March behind," Bach said.
The torch for both summer and winter Olympics is traditionally lit using a parabolic mirror and
the sun's rays at a ceremony in Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics, with the first
torchbearer starting out from the stadium.
Reuters
2016-01-28 13:53:12 Karolina Tagaris
58
Mother was PARALYSED from the waist down after giving
(2)
birth
Fiona Miller, 26, from Orkney, Scotland first
passed off her bad headaches and blurry vision
as normal symptoms of pregnancy. However
she was left paralysed from the waist down after
giving birth to her son Lucas (pictured)
Fiona and partner Graeme Bain, were shocked
to discover that Fiona had lesions on her brain.
The mother-to-be was diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis at 28 weeks. Pictured Fiona, Graeme
and Lucas during her recovery
Doctors had to wait until Fiona had given birth to start treatment for fear of harming her unborn
baby. Two days after Lucas was born she started a course of disease-modifying drugs and
eventually physiotherapy. By the beginning of July 2014, Fiona was using a zimmer frame
and later a walking stick
Fiona said: 'Two days after giving birth my health deteriorated and I couldn't move my legs,'
she said. 'I was paralysed from the waist down. It was simply terrifying'
Two days after giving birth, Fiona started treatment and Lucas was unable to stay in the
hospital with her. She was devastated she was unable to look after her baby son and
struggled to bond with him as a result
Fiona could only give Lucas a bottle once a day and there were days she was far too tired to
spend much time even holding him. She said: 'I wished I could have given him the cuddles
that a mother should'
At first she was afraid to spend time alone with her newborn son, who is now 20 months
(pictured). She said: 'The first day I spent 15 minutes with Lucas by myself while Graeme
went out of the room to take a phone call - it was petrifying'
Fiona was also incredibly disappointed about being unable to breastfeed baby Lucas
because of her treatment (pictured cradling him in hospital)
Fiona is now back home and, with Graeme and her family's support, she's doing her best to
be the hands-on mother she always wanted to be. She struggles to stand for long periods and
is unable to carry Lucas very far
2016-01-28 12:16:00 Julia Sidwell For Mailonline
59
Sweden plans to expel half its 163,000 migrants to stem the
(2)
flow
Sweden plans to expel up to half of the record 163,000 migrants who arrived
last year as it tries to deter further arrivals.
Anders Ygeman, the interior minister, said that the mass expulsions would use specially
chartered aircraft and be staggered over several years.
Sweden’s Social Democrat-led government has this year begun reversing the country’s
traditional welcome to migrants with a series of measures including the reintroduction of
border controls with Denmark.
“We are talking about 60,000 people, but the number could climb to 80,000,” Mr Ygeman said,
adding that police and migrant authorities had been asked to organise the
2016-01-28 11:39:00 www.thetimes.co.uk
60
Blade: Enable people
Speaking yesterday in Soweto on the 21st
anniversary of the death of SACP leader Joe
Slovo, the party's general secretary, Blade
Nzimande, said liberation movements such as
the ANC often fell into the temptation of wanting
to do everything for their people at the expense
of enabling them to become productive and selfsufficient citizens.
"Problems also occur in post-colonial societies
when liberation movements concentrate too
much on providing services, on doing things for
the people - as important as these things are - rather than also and more importantly
concentrating on building production, developing and diversifying the total national productive
capacities, and making sure that the benefits of production are distributed among the most
deserving people.
"As production develops more people will be in productive work and our capacity to deliver
social programmes will be greatly increased. These strategic tasks are mutually reinforcing,"
he said.
South Africa is lauded internationally for extending basic social services to millions after
decades of neglect by the apartheid government. These services include the provision of
almost 3million houses since 1994.
The government provides grants to more than 16million people (including more than
11million children), free schooling to more than 5million children and free meals to millions
more.
But the government's programme has been criticised for creating dependency on the state.
Nzimande told SACP members yesterday that hard work by individuals would underpin the
socialist society the party advocated for South Africa.
Nzimande also criticised the ANC for failing to transform the economy, which he said was
another common failure of liberation movements.
"We have not yet transformed the colonial features of our economy with its dependency on
exports of raw materials and primary goods. Our economy is still reliant on importing finished
goods, or production by multinational corporations, from the bathroom to breakfast, from
communication to transportation, from the clinic to the hospital, from the classroom to the
lecture hall, right in the workplace where we are importing capital goods. "
On the constitution, Nzimande said: "[This] is the year for us to assert the progressive content
of our country's constitution. We must clearly reflect on the necessary compromises that took
us one step forward and the conditions under which our constitution was agreed upon.
"The sun must rise! This is the time for us to intensify our struggle to move beyond those
necessary and transitional compromises. "
Nzimande's criticism of the ruling party can be viewed against the backdrop of souring
relations between the ANC and the SACP after intense battles between the parties in
Mpumalanga, as well as between the SACP and ANC youth league in KwaZulu-Natal.
Adding to the SACP's woes are anti-communist sentiments brought to the fore by the rise of
the so-called Premier League - a group comprising the premiers of North West, Free State
and Mpumalanga, and the ANC women's and youth league - which wants AU Commission
chairman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to succeed her former husband, Jacob Zuma, as party
and national president.
Olebogeng Molatlhwa | 07 January Olebogeng Molatlhwa
61
DA seems to exclude certain sections of the populace from
beaches, says Sanco
A few decades ago, when you invested in a
leather lounge suite - and it was, indeed, a hefty
investment - you knew you'd be getting
something that would last for decades and
improve with age in that men's-club-antique
kind of way.
TMG Digital | 07 January, 2016 1 TMG Digital
62
Premier
hands
Marikana houses
over
The police formed a human chain separating a group of toyi-toying peopled some dressed in
red EFF T-shirts.
"Where is Zuma, Zuma", they chanted.
"These houses are still under construction, during the course of the year when the house
have been completed we will hand them over to their beneficiary," he said.
"What we are doing today is to hand over this house to Piet Stompie Tlou. The house is fully
furnished, it has water and electricity. There is also grocery for him," he said to the applause
of the crowd.
The disgruntled group said they had been
waiting for a long time for house and would
forcefully occupy them if they were not handed
to them.
They claimed the house were built for
mineworkers following the death of 34 Lonmin
mineworkers four years ago.
The mineworkers were killed on August 16,
2012 when the police fired at them after they
went on a wildcat strike demanding to be paid
minimum of R12 500 per month. They camped on top of a hill refusing to descend until their
pay demand was met.
Ten people including two policemen and two security guards were killed a week earlier.
"I am not a tenant material, do I look like a tenant? " asked one man from the crowd,
identifying himself only as Kagiso.
"I am tired of paying rent. I have been a tenant for over 15 years, I want my own house. I
cannot give you my full name, I want a house. They may jump me because I talk too much. "
The Marikana Housing Project will yield 2 600 housing units on completion, 544 housing unit
have been completed.
Mahumapelo handed over two houses to Piet Stompie Tlou and Dorah Diremela on behalf of
President Jacob Zuma.
Agency Staff | 06 January, 2016 Agency Staff
63
ANC wants racists, those who promote apartheid to go to
jail
"The current legislative provisions are not
sufficient to punish and dissuade racists," the
office of the ANC chief whip said yesterday.
"As the majority party in parliament, we will
soon investigate creating a specific law or
amending the existing legislation to ensure that
acts of racism and promotion of apartheid are
criminalised and punishable by imprisonment. "
Penny Sparrow, a former Jawitz Properties
employee, recently likened black people to
monkeys on social media.
In another race row this week Standard Bank said it was suspending economist Chris Hart
over comments he made on Twitter.
Hart had tweeted: "More than 25 years after apartheid ended, the victims are increasing along
with a sense of entitlement and hatred towards minorities. "
Standard Bank said Hart's comments had racial undertones and were incorrect.
The ANC said yesterday it was clear that "there are still elements who are resisting efforts for
racial unity and are working tirelessly to widen the racial rifts and tensions created by
apartheid oppression more than 21 years since the advent of our democracy".
"We can no longer, as a nation, tolerate such dehumanising violations, where [the] black
majority are treated as subhumans and are referred to as monkeys, baboons and other
derogatory racist epithets in the land of their birth.
"In the context of our painful past, racial bigotry and apartheid must be considered serious
human rights violations that must be punishable by imprisonment. "
The FW de Klerk Foundation called on Sparrow yesterday "to make an unqualified apology"
for her remarks and to acquaint herself with the "values on which our new society has been
established".
"The trouble with Sparrow's remarks is that they reinforce black stereotypes of whites as
insensitive and supercilious racists.
"These stereotypes erode relationships between our communities," the foundation said.
It said the damage caused by Sparrow had been "compounded by her attempts to explain
herself".
Bekezela Phakathi | 06 January, Bekezela Phakathi
64
Warnings of food shortages
University of the Free State agriculture
economist Johan Willemse said the winter crop
would be 5million tons less than was needed.
"It is a dire situation ... the price of white maize
has already doubled. Another problem is that in
2016-2017 there will not be enough white
maize. People will not have sufficient food and
maize meal will be expensive," Willemse said.
"Farmers are having huge losses. They cannot
get credit to plant new crops so we run the risk
of becoming an importer of grains".
Willemse said last year South Africa imported a million tons of yellow maize and 80000t of
white maize from Mexico and Zambia.
He said a statement by Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, Senzeni Zokwana in
Pretoria yesterday to the effect that South Africa would have to import maize because there
was not enough stored to last until May was misleading because the country was already
importing maize.
After the briefing Zokwana told The Times: "The rain has not been coming to enable farmers
to plant . we might be compelled to import maize around May and June. "
Zokwana said his department had teamed up with other government departments to assess
the effects of the drought and how much maize would have to be imported.
"We do not know what is planted now and how much we will need to import. We need to [talk
to grain farmers' association] Grain SA," said Zokwana.
Zokwana said R226 million had been allocated to help farmers buy feed for livestock and
establish alternative water sources.
Sipho Masombuka | 05 January, 20 Sipho Masombuka
65
Penny Sparrow could be looking for a new job
The Minister of Human Settlements‚ Lindiwe
Sisulu‚ has ordered a nationwide survey on
racism among estate agents‚ the department
said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The ministry met with the Estate Agency Affairs
Board (EEAB)‚ including members of Jawitz
Properties‚ on Tuesday “to discuss concerns
from South Africans in relation to racist
comments made by Ms Penny Sparrow‚ an
agent under the Jawitz franchise”.
Sparrow was until recently employed by Jawitz Properties.
At the meeting‚ it was established that Sparrow has resigned from Jawitz Properties; that
Jawitz properties is considering legal action against her for bringing their company into
disrepute‚ including civil action; and that Sparrow’s licence to operate as an estate agent
expired on December 31‚ 2015‚ and she is required to submit a new application for renewal of
her licence.
Sisulu was briefed by the team and told about “a number of comments and reports of other
cases of racist behaviour by estate agents posted on social media and in the mass media”.
She instructed her department “to work with the Human Rights Commission and the EAAB to
conduct an enquiry into racism by estate agents in South Africa”.
Sisulu said that estate agents who do not offer a professional service to all South Africans
must not be allowed to operate.
"You cannot be an Estate Agent by day and in the evening you are posting racists comments
and behaving in an unlawful and offensive way‚ our regulations and code of conduct must
provide instruments for people like Penny Sparrow not to operate as estate agents. The
EAAB must make sure‚ if it is not there in current regulations‚ those regulations must be
amended to ensure that we root out racism in the sector‚ it is our responsibility as
Government‚" said Sisulu.
TMG Digital | 05 January, 2016 1 TMG Digital
66
De Klerk says Sparrow must make an ‘unqualified apology’
The statement comes in the wake of the outrage caused when a post on Facebook by
Sparrow‚ apparently angered by the presence of black people on beaches‚ went viral on
Monday.
“From now I. Shall address the blacks of South Africa as monkeys as I see the cute little wild
monkeys do the same pick drop and litter‚” Sparrow had said.
“The trouble with Ms Sparrow's remarks is that they reinforce black stereotypes of whites as
insensitive and supercilious racists. These
stereotypes are also unfair and further erode
relationships between our communities‚” the
foundation said.
It said the damage caused by Sparrow “has
been compounded by her subsequent attempts
to explain herself”.
“Our Constitution calls on us to heal the
divisions of the past and to establish a society
based on democratic values‚ social justice and
fundamental rights. Non-racialism is one of the foundational values on which our new society
has been created. Human dignity is another. “In multicultural societies such as ours it is of
paramount importance that we should treat all fellow South Africans from other communities
with respect and consideration. We should above all honour and acknowledge their right to
human dignity and should avoid hurtful negative stereotypes.”
Former apartheid-era president De Klerk made headlines in December over his call for a
statue of Cecil John Rhodes not to be removed from Oxford University.
The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Mbuyiseni Quintin Ndlozi said this plea “demonstrated that
he does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he received alongside Nelson Mandela” and his
views on the statue at Oriel College “must be considered as a withdrawal of his apology for
apartheid since‚ for him‚ it was politically correct”.
“By extension‚” Ndlozi argued‚ “it means De Klerk thinks there was a time when apartheid or
colonisation was politically correct‚ which renders his apologies for it futile.”
TMG Digital | 05 January, 2016 0 TMG Digital
67
Political parties react to controversial social media posts
In a statement, the ANC said such remarks were
reminiscent of the apartheid attitude towards the
indigenous people of the country.
“They also degrade black people as people not
deserving of using the beaches in their country
of birth. They further accuse the majority of our
country, who are mostly black, as having a
sense of entitlement and hatred towards the
minority,” the statement read.
Sparrow described black beachgoers as
"monkeys", in an apparent reaction to litter left behind after New Year’s celebrations.
Hart came under fire after he tweeted on Sunday that 25 years after apartheid ended; the
victims were increasing, along with a sense of entitlement and hatred towards minorities.
This has resulted in mass reaction across social media platforms, as well as from political
quarters.
Sparrow, a DA member, has since been given notice of intention to suspend her.
Hart, who works for Standard Bank, has been suspended pending an investigation. The SA
Human Rights Commission is also investigating.
The ANC said Hart and Sparrow should have known better and should not be allowed to
polarise society.
“We have made great progress in building this nation and no amount of racism from
individuals or groups must be allowed in our society,” the ANC said.
Pan African Congress of Azania spokesperson Kenneth Mokgatlhe said racism was fuelled
by inequalities in South African society.
“What is wrong when African people enjoy their ancestors' land and its beautiful nature,
clearly other people have a problem. Penny believes that something should only be exclusive
to one superior group of people.”
The PAC said government should do more to distribute wealth as those who dominated the
economy were of the belief that they could say anything.
Meanwhile, the South African Civic Organisation (Sanco) has hit out at the DA for laying
criminal charges against Sparrow while at the same time, allowing Diane Kohler-Barnard to
represent the party in Parliament.
Sanco national spokesperson, Jabu Mahlangu said: “This latest racist incident has unmasked
the DA's genetic make-up and true identity suggesting that the party remains a bastion of
racists.”
Mahlangu said the two incidents and how they were handled exposed the facade of DA
leader Mmusi Maimane.
Kohler Barnard's was previously expelled for sharing a Facebook post from journalist Paul
Kirk, in which he praised former apartheid president PW Botha.
Her expulsion was lifted on December 22, after she appealed the October ruling.
Lizeka Tandwa | 04 January, 2016 Lizeka Tandwa
68
ANCYL set to charge Penny Sparrow over racist Facebook
post
The Youth Leagues’s KwaZulu-Natal branch
released a statement on Monday saying that
“racism is a crime that is punishable and as
such the Youth League will approach the South
African Police Service on the South Coast with
the intention to lay criminal charges against this
racist”.
The Democratic Alliance has already
announced its intention to lay criminal charges
against Sparrow‚ who said on her tweet that:
“From now I. Shall address the blacks of South
Africa as monkeys as I see the cute little wild monkeys do the same pick drop and litter.”
In her badly written and near incoherent‚ uneducated tweet‚ with its deplorable use of
punctuation‚ Sparrow lamented the presence of Black people on the beaches of KZN‚ and
claimed Black beachgoers were uneducated.
The Youth League said: “We having gone through her Facebook profile and seen the
consistent disregard of not only the leadership of our movement and the republic in particular
but black people in general‚ the Youth League is of the view that a shallow apology
underlined by the sentiment of arrogance coming from this racist will not suffice. We demand
that she be prosecuted in order for this to serve as a lesson to all like-minded people who
have come out to her defence on this one.”
TMG News Wires | 04 January, 201 TMG News Wires
69
Can't crack 'The Witness'? Part of the fun is in the mystery,
not just the answers
Draw a line. It sounds simple, doesn't it?
"The Witness," from a sort of zoned-out satellite
view, is a game about drawing lines. To be
even more precise, it is a game populated with
puzzles, the bulk of them solved by drawing a
line. Again, it all sounds so simple.
Yet "The Witness" just so happens to be the
rare puzzle game that's less about answers and
more about mysteries and epiphanies.
"The Witness" is a game that uses its pastoral atmosphere to sooth and relax, casually laying
dastardly complex brainteasers before the player. All of them are placed in a colorful, warm
and surprisingly optimistic universe. The landscapes here may be devoid of human life, but
these are interactive grounds built for a picnic — the look of some alien, once-utopian world.
The game's setting is that of a lush and vividly colored island. Pink and purple flora sprout
around majestic castles, ancient temples and small towns. It's gorgeous and full of familiar but
curious objects.
Statues of men and women appear frozen in time. Sometimes they're accompanied with
laptops. Sometimes they're posed in the stance of a grand orator. These people — or are they
sculptures? — appear caught midaction. What happened to the population of the island is the
great conundrum at the heart of "The Witness. "
This backdrop, one that's enticing, magical and quiet, will no doubt bring to mind the classic
puzzle exploration title "Myst. " It is just part of what makes "The Witness" so special. For this
is a puzzle game that beguiles the player not just with challenges but a sense of adventure.
So while all that "The Witness" asks of the player is that the participant be able to draw a line,
such a request comes off as an invitation. As the trials get tougher — and "The Witness" gets
awfully difficult awfully quick — it may even feel like a tease. But it's never a trick.
"The Witness" was developed by a small team led by Jonathan Blow, an independent game
designer best known for the vexing time-bending game "Braid," one of the first breakout hits of
the independent era. Blow was a star in 2012's Sundance success story "Indie Game: The
Movie," and "Braid's" success has made "The Witness," available now for the PlayStation 4
and PCs, one of the first highly anticipated games of 2016.
Each correct solution offers but a small peek into a handcrafted tropical universe. At times, it
creates the sensation of stepping into a wondrous psychological experiment. It's as if the
island is alive and analyzing the personality of the player.
How, for example, do you interpret the meaning of two yellow blocks on a grid? What about a
frame with a red arrow? Or one with a tree blossoming in its center?
Move forward, the game beckons. Try to uncover our secrets, it seems to be saying. Chances
are the game will be smarter than you. It is smarter than me.
But "The Witness" isn't out to fool you. It just wants you to think about shapes and figures and
lines as if they're ideas — a long-lost language, perhaps, just waiting for someone ardent
enough to crack it.
I'm a dozen-plus hours into "The Witness," and the bulk of its puzzles remain unsolved. Yet I
don't have the sense of failing or simply coming up with the wrong answer. No, "The Witness"
has made me feel as if there's another way to see the world. I just haven't fully come around to
the game's point of view yet.
The town at the feet of a windmill? I can't begin to tell you how to enter any of its buildings.
The trail to the top of the mountain? I'm sure I'm missing something among all those nooks
and crannies amid the forest, perhaps another Albert Einstein audio recording.
None of that matters. I've already read that there are people who have completed "The
Witness. " I'm slightly jealous of their intellect. Or maybe I'm not. After all, I'm not so sure this is
a game I want to be able to power through in a weekend. I like knowing that "The Witness"
remains unsolved, that its puzzles and questions are in need of a closer study.
It's a game built for patient contemplation, and playing it, especially when it's at its most
arduous, reminds me of learning Spanish in high school. That is, it's taxing and difficult, but
understanding it appears to unlock a whole new way of thinking.
And what a joy it is to find a solution.
Some puzzles are as simple as isolating different shapes or colors. Others require the careful
review of the nearby environment and can be solved by a shift in perspective or a reflection of
the sun. Each builds upon what the player has learned before, subtly adding new elements so
that every individual test feels fresh.
When completed, neon tubes light up, essentially "turning on" the island, which then leads to
the next puzzle. Some serve as a beacon pointing the way to a mountain. One even created a
boat to make it easier to traverse the lands. They're all more or less presented on futuristiclooking panels that are unlocked by drawing the correct path for a maze.
It's all a bit abstruse and ambient, and "The Witness" feels less about creating a grand
conclusion than simply creating an environment in which one can be pondered. It took only a
matter of minutes, for instance, for "The Witness" to make me forget it all started by drawing a
line.
2016-01-31 00:00:00 Los Angeles Times
70
Samsung follows Apple to forecast falling sales
Samsung, the biggest smartphone maker in the world, has reported a drop in
sales in a further sign the smartphone market may be slowing after almost a
decade of rapid growth.
The South Korean company, the only producer of more of the devices than Apple, said sales
were slowing at its mobile phone and semiconductor divisions and profits would likely be
lower this year.
Samsung’s warning came a day after Apple shares fell 6.5 per cent in one day, their biggest
one-day drop in two years, as the company that launched the iPhone under Steve Jobs in
2007 forecast its
2016-01-29 00:01:00 Edward Curwen
71
Manish Tewari re-appointed Congress spokesperson
New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi
on Thursday approved the appointment of
Manish Tewari as the spokesperson of the All
India Congress Committee.
Tewari has served as the Union Minister of
State (Independent charge), Minister of
Information and Broadcasting under the UPA
regime.
Manish Tewari
He is a lawyer by qualification and has
practised in the Supreme Court of India as well as the Delhi High Court.
He was earlier appointed a party spokesperson in 2008. Before his new appointment, Tewari
was a media panelist of the party.
"Congress President Sonia Gandhi has approved the appointment of Manish Tewari as
Spokesperson of All India Congress Committee," S V Ramani, Secretary of the
AICC's Communication Department, said.
Tewari was acting chairperson of the Media department of the party during the last Lok Sabha
elections.
With the appointment of Tewari, AICC will have a total of 28 spokespersons, besides 9 senior
spokespersons.
Manish Tewari had landed himself into trouble recently by claiming that a 2012 media report
on troop movement towards Delhi when Gen V K Singh was the Army chief was "unfortunate
but true". The Congress had then been forced to snub the party leader.
Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi had at the time said Tewari is "neither the
authorised spokesperson nor was he a part of the Cabinet Committee on Security. It was not
right for him to comment on such issues".
2016-01-28 22:12:57 By Agencies | Posted 1 hour
72
20 smart cities across India announced: Here's the
complete list
New Delhi : Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on Thursday
announced the names of the first 20 cities which
will be developed into smart cities in 2016.
Minister of Urban Development M. Venkaiah
Naidu addresses a press conference ‘Smart
City’ project in New Delhi on Thursday. Pic/PTI
These are: Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Pune
(Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Surat
(Gujarat), Kochi (Kerala), Ahmedabad (Gujarat),
Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Visakhapatnam
(Andhra Pradesh), Sholapur (Maharashtra),
Davangere (Karnataka), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC,
Delhi), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), Belagavi (Karnataka), Udaipur
(Rajasthan), Guwahati (Assam), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ludhiana (Punjab), and Bhopal
(Madhya Pradesh).
These cities were chosen from 98 cities shortlisted for the 'Smart Cities Mission'.
"These 20 cities will be the first to receive funds, hence kickstarting the process of developing
them into 'smart cities'. The next two years will see the inclusion of 40 and 38 cities more,"
Naidu said at a press conference here.
"In terms of population, these 20 cities account for 3.54 crore people. A total investment of
Rs.50,802 crore has been proposed in the selected smart cities and towns during the fiveyear period. Bottom-up approach has been the key planning principle under Smart City
Mission," he added.
Naidu added: "Smart cities need to be inclusive, sustainable and effective engines of growth,
fulfilling the aspiration of Young India. "
2016-01-28 21:29:18 By IANS | Posted 3 hours
73
Inspired by Shani Shingnapur protest, women now seek
entry into Haji Ali Dargah
As women activists intensify their protests
seeking entry into Shani Shingnapur temple in
Maharashtra, Muslim women groups on
Thursday staged a protest demanding entry into
Haji Ali Dargah in south Mumbai.
ALSO READ: Shani temple row: Women's
group approaches CM after thwarted protests
Zeenat Shaukat Ali, one of the protestors and a
Professor of Islamic studies, said that it was
"male patriarchy", not religion, which was
imposing restrictions on women.
"I am an Islamic scholar and nowhere in Islam is it said that women cannot go to graveyards.
This is the dictum of the prophet. When Islam has not excluded women, then why should
male patriarchy dominate. Male patriarchy is dominating the Hindus, Male patriarchy is
dominating the Muslims," she told ANI.
She further said that discrimination against women was against the tenets of Islam.
"This is against what Islam has taught. The Constitution has given you equal rights, Islam is
supporting the Constitution," she added.
A Muslim women's rights group is locked in a bitter legal battle with trustees of the Haji Ali
Dargah, which barred women's entry into mosque's mausoleum in 2011
While defending its ban on women, the Haji Ali Dargah trust had reportedly said that it was a
"grievous sin" as per Islam for women to be in close proximity of the grave of a male Muslim
saint.
The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) has petitioned the Bombay High Court
seeking a ruling that the ban is unconstitutional.
The protest in Mumbai broke out two days after members of a group, Bhumata Brigade, were
prevented by police from entering into Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district to
break a 400-year-old tradition banning women from entering its sacred sanctum.
After the high-voltage march to the temple by the Bhumata Brigade volunteers, which was
foiled mid-way, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called for a dialogue between temple
authorities and activists to find a way out of the row.
The popular shrine is dedicated to Lord Shani, who personifies the planet Saturn in Hindu
belief. Women devotees are not permitted on the 'chauthara' (sacred platform) of the temple
as per the centuries-led tradition followed at the shrine.
2016-01-28 21:03:56 By Agencies | Posted 2 hours
74
Kohli, Yuvraj, Steve and Maxwell take a break 'with' Federer
and Djokovic
There may be an exciting T20 international
series going on Down Under, but even the
cricketers from both the Indian and Australian
team could not resist the lure of the Australian
Open semi-final face-off between Roger
Federer and Novak Djokovic in Melbourne.
Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh took time off from
their busy schedule to catch the high-octane
semi-final, which saw the former champion
Federer losing to world No. 1 Djokovic.
Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh posted a courtside selfie from the Rod Laver Arena. The match
also had a former Indian cricketer also in attendance -- VVS Laxman, who is also a Federer
fan like Kohli.
Cricketers Virat Kohli (center) and Yuvraj Singh (right) watch the semifinal match between
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open championships in Melbourne,
Australia, on Thursday. Pic/AP/PTI
Unfortunately, both Kohli and Laxman were left disappointed after Djokovic sent Fedex
packing 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to enter his sixth Australian Open final and fifth successive Grand
Slam final.
Also spotted at the Australian Open were Australian Test skipper Steve Smith and his
teammates Glenn Maxwell and Peter Siddle. And from their posts on social media both
Maxwell and Smith seem to be Federer fans as well.
Steve Smith had the honour of meeting legendary tennis player Rod Laver after the match
and he retweeted an image of his fan boy moment.
2016-01-28 20:43:16 By A Correspondent | Posted 2 hours
75
CAT notice to AIIMS over removal of two doctors
New Delhi: The Central Administrative Tribunal
(CAT) on Thursday issued notice to the AIIMS
in New Delhi over the removal of two doctors of
the medicine department without proper inquiry
into an allegation that they misbehaved with a
patient in September 2015.
The CAT demanded a response by April 4 from
the administration of the All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as to why a formal
inquiry was not conducted into the charge made
against the two doctors before removing them
from the institution.
The AIIMS had on January 10 terminated the services of Kuldeep Kumar and Arvind Kumar of
the medicine department for allegedly misbehaving with a patient and manhandling him in
September last year.
A committee was set up under department head S. K. Sharma, which earlier this month took
the decision to terminate the services of the two doctors.
"The CAT has said that the punitive order was given by the AIIMS administration without the
disciplinary procedure. Also, the institution has been asked on why were the two doctors not
allowed to present their version over the issue for which they have been removed," an
advocate involved in the matter, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.
On Wednesday, the Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAAIIMS) had written to Union Health
Minister J. P. Nadda, threatening to go on an indefinite strike if the minister failed to revoke
the termination.
Earlier, a doctor associated with FAAIIMS said: "Only seven faculties have been terminated
till now in the history of AIIMS, but that was also because they went abroad and did not
respond to the communication by the institution about their return. "
2016-01-28 20:28:14 By IANS | Posted 1 hour
76
Fan attempts to get into Zico’s house
Block B‘s Zico said he moved to another apartment after a fan tried to enter his home during
the latest episode of MBC’s “Radio Star,” Wednesday.
In August of last year, the rapper revealed that one “sasaeng fan,” known as fanatic fans who
stalk stars, tried to sneak into his house.
He said on the show, “I was sleeping alone
when someone suddenly tried to open my door
lock. At first I just thought it was the cleaning
lady, but the person repeatedly failed to get the
password right.”
Terrified, Zico turned on the monitor to take a
look from the inside. Then realizing that Zico
was home, the fan posed for the camera,
smiling into the screen. Zico commented: “It was
a nightmare. I had to move out of the house soon.”
Even though Zico was not the first to have stalker-like fans visiting his house, his fans pitied
the horrid aspect of the celebrity‘s life.
By Kim Ji-young (christinekim@heraldcorp.com)
2016-01-28 20:24:00 Asia News Network/The Korea Herald
77
Taeyeon releases teaser for new single ‘Rain’
Girls’ Generation member Taeyeon has released black-andwhite teaser photos and a video for her upcoming single,
“Rain.”
The teasers were released Wednesday through her official
webpage (taeyeon.smtown.com/) and the SMTown YouTube
channel.
In the photos, she puts her hand on a glass window, with
raindrops on its surface. In another photo, the artist looks
comfortable yet melancholy as she lies on an antique sofa.
Taeyeon’s new single is to be released through “Station” —
SM Entertainment’s new online streaming platform to release
special singles of their artists exclusively. They will release
these singles on a specific day of each week. “Rain” is to be the opening number for the
company’s digital renovation project.
Taeyeon’s new single “Rain” will be unveiled on “Station” later in February.
By Jung Min-kyung (mkj1105@heraldcorp.com)
2016-01-28 20:22:00 Asia News Network/The Korea Herald
78
Hema Malini accused of 'land-grabbing' for dance school in
Mumbai
Bollywood dreamgirl Hema Malini's plans to start a dance academy on a plot of land in
Mumbai's Andheri area hit a roadblock on Thursday, as an RTI activist accused her of landgrabbing.
Hema Malini
Exactly a month ago, the Maharashtra government had allotted a prime 2,000-square-metre
plot to the Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha
member in the suburban upmarket Oshiwara
area for her proposed dance academy.
According to documents procured under the
Right to Information (RTI) by activist Anil
Galgali, Hema Malini was allotted the plot worth
crores of rupees for a paltry Rs.70,000.
"Not only that, this is the second time Hema
Malini has been allotted a prime plot in the
Mumbai suburbs. Earlier, in 1997, the (then)
Shiv Sena-BJP government had given her a plot of land, but she could not develop it due to
CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) issues," Galgali told IANS.
He claimed that though Hema Malini has not yet returned the earlier plot, the current
government has allotted her another plot.
Interestingly, Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Shukla was allotted a plot in Andheri
West, but following a controversy generated by then opposition BJP-Shiv Sena, he was
forced to surrender it in February 2014 -- just before the Lok Sabha elections.
The details of the allotment to Hema Malini from the Mumbai Suburban District Collectorate
showed that she was given the land at only Rs.35 per square metre.
Moreover, she was allotted another plot of 1,741 square metres in the same locality in April
1997 for Rs.10 lakh, but since it fell partly under CRZ, she never developed it, nor did she
raise 25 percent of the project cost, but continues to retain that plot, Galgali said.
In the new allotment, the Hema Malini Dance Academy's cultural complex project is expected
to cost around Rs.18.49 crore for which she is yet to submit proof of availability of 25 percent
funds and resources to raise the balance 75 percent.
The RTI reply said the academy has only around Rs.3.5 crore -- less than the 25 percent
minimum requirement, and it was unclear about the balance 75 percent.
Galgali has shot off a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pointing out the
governement's 'benevolence' to Hema Malini, and how it was flouting the state's policy of
taking back reserved land given to various organisations, but allotting a plot reserved for a
garden to the BJP MP for her dance academy.
When Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse made the allotment on December 29, 2015, Hema
had said how the matter had been buried in bureaucratic red tape for 20 years, but the new
government expedited it in record time.
2016-01-28 20:15:55 By IANS | Posted 2 hours
79
Virat Kohli's
unimpressed
animated
send-off
leaves
Steve
Smith
Melbourne : Australian captain Steve Smith has expressed his unhappiness
over Virat Kohli, saying that the star Indian batsman's animated send-off
during the opening T20 at Adelaide Oval could have been avoided as it was just not cricket.
Smith, the ICC's Cricketer of the Year, was talking to the Channel Nine commentary team
when Kohli plucked a catch to dismiss the Australian for 21 in the first match, which Australia
lost by 37 runs on Tuesday.
A visibly fired-up Kohli then went on to gesture in a fashion that apparently told Smith that he
should have focused on batting instead of talking.
Reflecting on Kohli's sledge, Smith said that it was fine to sledge a bit when a player is on the
field but added that it was not necessary when someone gets out, the Sydney Morning Herald
reported.
Australia will take on India in the second T20 at the MCG on Friday before the third match at
the SCG on Sunday.
2016-01-28 20:14:58 By PTI | Posted 5 hours
80
Srikanth, Kashyap enter Quarters; Sindhu loses in Lucknow
Lucknow : Top seed Kidambi Srikanth entered
the quarterfinals but a heartbreak was in store
for P V Sindhu as she suffered a shocking loss
to Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand in the second
round of the USD 120,000 Syed Modi Grand
Prix Gold badminton tournament in Lucknow on
Thursday.
Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and PV
Sindhu
Srikanth dished out sweet revenge in the
prequarterfinals today when he hammered Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin 21-9 21-12 in a 32minute match, just five days after going down to the Malaysian in the semifinals of Malaysia
Masters in Penang. The World No. 9 Indian will face another Malaysian in Goh Soon Huat
tomorrow.
Last Sunday, Sindhu was standing on the dais with her Malaysia Masters gold medal but
today, the third seeded Indian bowed out with a 21-18 24-26 17-21 loss to World No. 27
Jindapol in an edge-of-the-seat thriller that lasted an hour and 28 minutes at the BBD, UP
Badminton Academy.
Defending champion Parupalli Kashyap also reached the quarterfinals after notching up a 2119 21-10 win over China's Zhu Siyuan. The Commonwealth Games champion will next take
on China's Huang Yuxiang.
2011 World Championship bronze medallists, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa brushed
aside compatriots Ningshi Block Hazarika and Harika Veludurthi 21-9 21-10 and the sixth
seeds will next take on the Thai pair of Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar also had a goodday in office as they marched
past the fifth-seeded Indonesian combo of Angga Pratama and Ricky Karanda Suwardi 21-13
21-14 in a men's doubles match.
The Indian duo will meet third seeds Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding of
Denmark, who dispatched the Indian combo of K Nandagopal and Shlok Ramchandran 2119 21-6 in another match.
Fifth seeds Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito of Japan ended the run of India's S Poorvisha
Ram and Arathi Sara Sunil 21-9 21-11 in a women's doubles match, while K Maneesha and
N Sikki Reddy went down 11-21 17-21 to Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of
Thailand.
In men's doubles, top seed Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark, the silver
medallist at London Olympics, defeated the Indian pair of Vineeth Manuel and S Sanjeeth 217 21-12 in just 19 minutes.
Aparna Balan and Prajakta Sawant too bit the dust, going down 17-21 to third seeds Eefje
Muskens and Selena Piek of Netherlands in a 39-minute match.
In another men's doubles match, M Anilkumar Raju and Venkat Gaurav Prasad were
outclassed 14-21 7-21 by sixth seeds Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov of Russia.
2016-01-28 20:09:50 By PTI | Posted 2 hours
81
Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji, Dilip Shanghvi among
world's 50 wealthiest people
New Delhi : Three Indians - Mukesh Ambani,
Azim Premji and Dilip Shanghvi - have made it
to a global list of 50 wealthiest people that is
topped by Bill Gates.
According to a new list by Wealth-X in
collaboration with Business Insider, Mukesh
Ambani was ranked at the 27th place on the list
with a net worth of USD 24.8 billion, while Azim
Premji and Dilip Shanghvi were ranked at the
43rd and 44th place with assets worth USD
16.5 billion and USD 16.4 billion respectively.
The list of top 50 wealthiest people in the world have a combined fortune of USD 1.45 trillion,
nearly equal to the GDP of Australia, the report noted.
The list was topped by Bill Gates who has a staggering wealth of USD 87.4 billion, followed
by Spanish businessman Amancio Ortega Gaona and Warren Buffett in the second and third
place with wealth of USD 66.8 billion and USD 60.7 billion respectively.
Amazon's Jeffrey Bezos with a net worth of USD 56.6 billion and US business tycoon David
Koch with USD 47.4 billion made the top five richest people in the world. As per the list, the
United States is home to 29 billionaires on the list, more than any other country. While, only
four billionaires from China and three from India made the top 50.
The youngest billionaire on the list is 31-year-old Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg,
ranked 8th with a net worth of USD 42.8 billion.
Only four female billionaires are on the list. The oldest billionaire, 93-year-old L'Oreal heiress
Liliane Bettencourt, is one of the four. She is ranked 17th, with a net worth of USD 29 billion.
Sector-wise, the technology space dominated the list with 12 billionaires - more than any
other sector, including finance.
2016-01-28 20:04:05 By PTI | Posted 4 hours
82
Bullock cart races still happening in Maharashtra: People
For Animals
Animal rights organisation People For Animals (PFA) has urged the
Maharashtra government to stop the illegal bullock cart races and bull fights
which it claimed are still taking place despite the recent order of the Supreme Court.
In a letter dated January 24 to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, PFA said, " Supreme
Court recorded the stand of the State of Maharashtra that bullock cart races have no cultural,
historical or religious significance. In the circumstances, bullock cart races in Maharashtra are
not permitted under the terms of the MOEF Notification of 7 January 2016. "
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court stayed the Union Government's notification which
amended the rules to allow Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu and bullock cart races elsewhere.
Against this backdrop, the letter says that bullock cart races and other such events violate the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
PFA has received information that bullock cart races or bull fights are still being organised in
Maharashtra, says the letter sent by advocate Siddhvidya on behalf of PFA.
"The Supreme Court has stated that if the provisions of the Act and the directions are not
complied with, disciplinary action is to be taken by the Government against the erring
officials," the letter adds. PFA has also enclosed a list of places where bullock cart races are
organised.
"We fear that the continuation of the illegality of bullock cart races may not have come to the
notice of the administration, hence we have requested the CM to issue instructions to
concerned authorities clarifying that such races should be prevented," advocate Siddhvidya
told PTI.
PFA has sent a copy of the letter to the Union Minister Maneka Gandhi too.
2016-01-28 20:01:11 By PTI | Posted 3 hours
83
P V Sindhu moves to World No. 11 in BWF ranking
New Delhi : Riding on her title-triumph at the
Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold, India's P V
Sindhu on Thursday jumped one place to be
just outside the top 10 in the latest BWF ranking
here today.
P V Sindhu
Sindhu, who made a resounding start to the
new season by winning the Malaysia Masters
last Sunday, is now at the 11th spot with 54,380
points in the women's singles ranking, where
Saina Nehwal holds the second position.
In men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy were static at World No. 9 and 20
respectively but Parupalli Kashyap improved a place while Ajay Jayaram slipped four places
to be at the World No. 25 spot.
Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa were
steady at World No. 14, while men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy were at
the 17th position.
Among others, B Sai Praneeth was at World No. 34, while Sameer Verma and RMV
Gurusaidutt were just inside the top 50 at the 46th and 47th spot respectively.
2016-01-28 19:58:29 By PTI | Posted 2 hours
84
Probe against Chhagan Bhujbal: ACB charge sheet likely in
a month
A charge sheet is likely to be filed within a month against NCP leader
Chhagan Bhujbal for alleged misappropriation of funds and land grabbing,
the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB) on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court.
A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and Revati Mohite Dere today sought progress
reports from the ACB and the Enforcement Directorate in four weeks on their probe against
Bhujbal and his family members. It also said that in such cases where the allegations are
serious and levelled against people holding important positions, monitoring is necessary.
The court was today informed that the ACB is likely to file the charge sheet in a month against
Bhujbal, in two FIRs lodged by it against him and his family members in the Maharashtra
Sadan scam and Kalina land grabbing case.
The ED informed the court today that it has registered two Economic Case Information
Reports (ECIR) against Bhujbal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), but it
can go ahead with the probe and file FIR only after the ACB files its chargesheet.
The ACB further informed the court that in three allegations against Bhujbal, the agency has
not found any material that discloses FIR.
Another case was registered by Navi Mumbai police concerning a housing project scam
wherein Rs 44 crore were collected from over 2,000 people for houses in a project 'Hex
World', promoted by a realty firm owned by the Bhujbal family.
The High Court had in December 2014 directed setting up a Special Investigation Team
(SIT), comprising ACB and ED officials, to probe into 11 different allegations of irregularities
relating to money laundering by private companies run by Bhujbal, his sons and relatives.
The direction was passed in a PIL filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking registration of FIR
against Bhujbal.
2016-01-28 19:54:59 By PTI | Posted 3 hours
85
Nevada rolls the dice to attract more Indians to Las Vegas
New Delhi : Does the excitement of winning a jackpot on a slot machine or
making a killing at table games give you a blood rush? Then Las Vegas, still
the gaming and entertainment capital of the world, is inviting you to try your luck.
Aiming to attract more tourists to its famous destinations, the Nevada Division of Tourism is
here aiming to partner with the tourism ministry. Last October, the US state of Nevada, made
famous by the casinos on the Las Vegas strip, opened a representative office here to boost
tourism from the country.
“Our goal is to take India to the top five position in our list of tourists. We are ready to help
Indians with everything when they visit Nevada,” Mark Hutchison, lieutenant governor of
Nevada and chairman of the Nevada Division of Tourism told IANS.
Indians are now among the top 10 country-nationals to visit Nevada every year.
Hutchison said about 12 years ago, the state had also rolled out the red carpet for visitors
from China, with the result that the country is now among the top five countries from where
tourists arrive there.
The same effort, he said, would be put in for visitors from India.
Hutchison is here to participate in the travel trade show SATTE 2016 being held from January
29-31.
Nevada hosted around 63,000 tourists from India in 2014 and the volume is growing at 33
percent year-on-year. Hutchison said Nevada tourism division will beef up its marketing team
in India to attract more people.
"Our source city will be Delhi and Mumbai. We will be targeting family market, honeymooners
and Indian film industry," he added. Las Vegas has always been a great filming destination,
made more famous by Ocean Eleven's success centred around a heist at the Bellagio casino.
Hutchison asserted that though Las Vegas is the most sought after place in Nevada, other
destinations like Reno, Lake Tahoe and the cowboy traditions of Elko also have the potential
to draw tourists.
Hard-selling the scenic beauty of the place, Hutchison said: "We have wineries in the north
and the south of the state. Nevada is a very family-friendly and safe place. We are very
particular about safety and security of our tourists. "
Although Las Vegas continues to be the centre of the gambling world among veteran visitors,
Macau, in China, overtook it in terms of revenue in 2006, according to Chinese government
figures.
In nine years since -- the former Portuguese colony on the coast of Hong Kong came under
Chinese rule in 1999, the casino investments and revenues have seen a huge boost with
millions of Chinese from the mainland going to the small island to part with their money,
hoping to hit it rich, or at least return with a profit.
But Las Vegas still remains the quintessential capital of the gaming industry, and many of its
casino companies have set up base in Macau, the only place in China where gambling is
allowed legally.
2016-01-28 19:49:17 By PTI | Posted 2 hours
86
Manohar Parrikar bats for larger role for women in ICG
combat oprations
New Delhi : Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today batted for a larger role for women in
combat operations in Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and said focus needs to be put on facilitating
it. He also lauded the Coast Guard for imparting training to a batch of 10 women officers to
operate a hovercraft. Woman personnel constitute 10 per cent of the total strength of the force,
which guards the country's maritime boundary.
Manohar Parrikar. Pic/PTI
"One of the areas we need to focus would be to
facilitate greater role of women in the
organisation. I am aware that women constitute
around 10 per cent of the total strength of the
Indian Coast Guard. Women officers have been
employed as pilots of Coast Guard aircraft.
"It is heartening to know that the Coast Guard
has started training for the first batch of women
officers for operating Coast Guard hovercraft.
This is a significant step towards empowerment
of women," Parrikar said. He was speaking at
the Investiture Ceremony of ICG here.
Last year, the Ministry of Defence gave its nod to induct women as fighter pilots in the Indian
Air Force.
2016-01-28 19:47:39 By PTI | Posted 6 hours
87
Shoe thrown at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to protest liquor ban
Patna : A man hurled a shoe at Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar on Thursday, but it missed the
intended target.
The incident took place during a function at
which Nitish Kumar reiterated the ban on sale of
liquor in Bihar from April 1, police said.
The shoe landed away from Nitish Kumar and
the man was detained by police.
"A man attempted to throw a shoe at the chief
minister at a function in Bakhtiyarpur in Patna,"
a district police official said.
The shoe landed a few metres away from Nitish Kumar.
"This incident took place when Nitish Kumar reiterated that he was committed to
implementing a total ban on liquor in the state from April 1. A man protested against it by
throwing a shoe at him," the police official said.
Earlier, Nitish Kumar had made it clear that a total ban on liquor would be imposed in the
state in phases. Bihar would first ban country-made liquor and then Indian-made foreign
liquor (IMFL), he said.
Ban on sale and consumption of alcohol was one of the promises Nitish Kumar made during
campaigning for the 2015 Bihar assembly elections.
2016-01-28 19:41:12 By IANS | Posted 2 hours
88
FIR against Bihar Congress leader for kidnapping woman
Patna : An FIR has been lodged against Congress legislator Sidharth Kumar
Singh for allegedly kidnapping a young woman, police said on Thursday.
"The young woman's father has lodged a case against the legislator from Bikram assembly,"
a police official said.
"It seems to be a case of love-affair but investigation is on to trace Sidharth Singh," police
said.
Locals informed police that Sidharth Singh had eloped with this young woman, who is in her
early twenties, in the past also.
Sidharth Singh, a criminal-turned-politician in his early 30s, has served a jail term for murder.
He is the son of a reputed Patna-based child specialist Uptal Kant Singh.
2016-01-28 19:04:26 By IANS | Posted 3 hours
89
Graphic Video: Woman falls into platform gap at Borivali
station, dies
In what's an unfortunate and freak accident, a
woman was killed after falling into the gap
between the platform and train at the Borivali
station while trying to get off a moving train.
The tragic incident happened when the 55-yearold woman, identified as Kirandevi Kothari, was
trying to deboard from the Vadodara Express,
while it was still moving, along with some
relatives. In the CCTV footage, she appears to
lose her balance, slips and falls into the onefoot gap between the train and the platform.
ALSO READ: Caught on CCTV: Girl falls into gap between train & platform, survives
The footage shows a woman getting off the train first, a man gets off next, followed by sareeclad Kothari. Her relatives tries very hard to rescue her, but to no avail.
The authorities stopped the train immediately. She was then rushed to the hospital, but
declared dead on arrival.
2016-01-28 18:59:12 By A Correspondent | Posted 3 hours
90
Sack Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, CPI-M tells
Narendra Modi
New Delhi : The CPI-M has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack his
ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, saying they are to blame for
the suicide of a Dalit student in Hyderabad.
An editorial in the CPI-M journal 'People's Democracy' also said that P. Appa Rao, vice
chancellor of the Hyderabad University, should also be dismissed for the January 17 suicide
by Rohith Vemula.
"The vice chancellor has to be removed forthwith. Both he and Dattatreya must be charged
under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for
abetment of suicide," it said.
"The continuance of Dattatreya and Irani as ministers in the union cabinet is untenable.
"The prime minister should realise that if his government has to salvage some of the moral
authority it has lost, they have to go," said the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)
journal.
The editorial said there were times when a single incident can shatter the moral authority of a
government. The death of Vemula, a research scholar, "who was driven to commit suicide is
one such", it said.
Vemula, 26, and four other Dalit students were suspended from the university at the instance
of Minister of State for Labour Dattatreya, who is also the MP from Secunderabad.
"Though an earlier enquiry had concluded that there was no need for action to be taken
against the Dalit students belonging to the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), it was
Dattatreya's letter to HRD minister Smriti Irani that the Hyderabad University had become a
den for 'casteist, extremist and anti-national politics' that led the vice chancellor to suspend
the five students.
"The HRD ministry wrote four letters to the university authorities asking what steps were
being taken on the letter sent by Dattatreya.
"Hence the action of prohibiting Vemula and four others from the use of the hostel and other
facilities, which culminated in his committing suicide, can be directly attributable to the role
played by Dattatreya and Irani. "
2016-01-28 18:46:43 By IANS | Posted 6 hours
91
Domestic airlines strengthen measures to handle unruly
flyers
New Delhi: Domestic airlines have bolstered measures to deal with unruly
passengers on board aircraft following a recent spate of such incidents.
Also Read: 70 fliers offloaded from Raipur-bound Indigo flight for 'unruly behaviour'
Aviation regulator DGCA had in November, 2014, mandated the airlines to apply restraining
devices to tackle an unruly passenger when all conciliatory approaches had been exhausted,
including verbal communication. It had also asked the carriers to properly train their flight and
cabin crew as well as ground staff to handle such cases.
"We at IndiGo carry a restraint device on all our domestic flights. IndiGo complies with the
government guidelines and we have a standard operating procedure (restricted) to restrain
passengers only when all the conciliatory approaches have been exhausted," IndiGo said.
This has been incorporated in IndiGo's safety and emergency procedure manual, it said.
Also Read: Family offloaded from flight at Mumbai airport for alleged unruly behaviour
IndiGo also said that prior to employing the restraining technique, a very useful industrydeveloped procedure is used by it for determining the seriousness of an unruly or assaultivepassenger incident, and the responses thereby warranted. It said the procedure pertains to a
four-tiered scheme of threat levels.
IndiGo had last week offloaded 70 passengers from a Raipur -bound flight from Hyderabad
alleging 'unruly behaviour'. The passengers have in turn filed a police complaint alleging
'harassment' by the airline's staff.
Global airlines body International Air Transport Association (IATA) has on several occasions
expressed concern over the rising number of cases of unruly passengers reported by airlines.
Airlines from around the world had announced they would work jointly to devise steps for
checking the menace at the 70th IATA Annual General Meeting in Doha in 2014, which had
also adopted a resolution calling on governments and the industry to work together on a
balanced package of measures to address the problem of unruly air-passenger behaviour.
"SpiceJet has been following the DGCA guidelines, including on keeping restraint devices to
deal with unruly passengers on board since 2014 itself," an airline official said.
According to the DGCA guidelines issued on November 18, 2014, unruly behaviour could be
the result of unsatisfactory service/condition or effect of a series of such events that build up.
"Airline staff should observe early signs of potential unruly behaviour. Airlines shall focus and
act on these early signs rather than dealing exclusively with escalated events. At no stage,
the airline staff/crew member shall show discourteous behaviour during redressal of genuine
passenger (grievances)," it said.
Besides, crew members must attempt to defuse a critical situation until it becomes clear that
there is no way to resolve the same through verbal communication and written notice to
passenger, the guidelines state, adding that "restraining devices should be used when all
conciliatory approaches have been exhausted".
2016-01-28 18:24:01 By PTI | Posted 3 hours
92
India test fires indigenously-developed surface-to-air Akash
missile
Balasore (Odisha): India on Friday test fired its indigenously-developed
surface-to-air Akash missile as part of a user trial from the Integrated Test
Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
"Three rounds of test were carried out by IAF personnel aiming at para-barrel targets," said an
official.
The missiles, with a strike range of 25 km and capability to carry warhead of 60 kg, were test
fired from 11 AM to 2 PM from the launch complex-3 of the ITR, he said.
Akash, which aimed at a para-barrel target during the trial, is a medium range surface-to-air
anti-aircraft
defence
system
developed
by
the
Defence
Research
and
Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development
Programme.
Akash is powered by Ramjet-rocket propulsion system which renders thrust for the missile to
intercept the target at supersonic speed without any retardation.
It can fly at supersonic speed ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5 and can engage aerial targets upto
a range of approximately 25 km.
The missile was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in July 2015. Compared with the
American MIM-104 Patriot, the surface-to-air missile system, Akash has the capability to
neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles.
2016-01-28 17:44:17 By PTI | Posted 4 hours
93
Palestinian university students design robot controlled by
glove
Three computer engineering students have
designed for their graduation project a robot that
can be controlled using a special glove.
The trio are studying at Birzeit University in the
West Bank city of Ramallah.
The smart glove has sensors and other
electrical devices that send messages to the
robotic car to move.
The speed and direction of the car's movement
is dictated by the movement of the hand and the
fingers of the person that is wearing the glove.
Computer engineering students Mohammad Zyoud, Mohammad Atiyyeh and Suhaib
Tawafsheh spent eight months working on the self-funded project which cost them around
150 USD.
Tawafsheh said that the most important component of this project is the sensors that are part
of the glove.
"The sensors collect sensitive data about the hand's movement with its different speeds, the
fingers' movement and everything else. Then it collects the data in a special frame using a
micro controller and sends it via Bluetooth to the receiver. The receiver does not have to have
a special kind, any receiver can receive the data and analyses it according to its need and
reacts according to this data," he said.
Many items needed for the construction of the project were not available in the West Bank,
and the students had to order many of them online.
At times, they had to wait months for some of the items and some were never delivered.
Mohammad Zyoud said that there just isn't a market for some of the items that they need for
their projects.
"There are no users or customers that buy these electrical pieces. No one is interested in
importing and selling these pieces in the Palestinian market," he said.
Mohammad Attiyeh said he hopes the technology for robot and glove can be used in a wide
variety of applications in the future.
"We hope that it becomes a special platform that we can use in different devices not only for
robots and Windows (computer) and this is what we are working on now," he said.
The three students are in contact with a technological hub in the West Bank, hoping to
develop the product and take it to the Palestinian and international market.
2016-01-28 17:35:00 www.jpost.com
94
Bernie Sanders to co-sponsor gun control bill – campaign
live
Sanders is speaking at a high school in Iowa , where actors Justin Long and Susan Sarandon
are in attendance near-ish the Guardian’s own
DC bureau chief, Dan Roberts.
Sanders met with Barack Obama on
Wednesday in the White House, and apparently
they talked shop about campaigning in Iowa.
Earlier this week the president heaped praise
on the Democratic frontrunner , Hillary Clinton,
and admitted that he didn’t know Sanders as
well as his former secretary of state.
Students in the audience – not exactly a room full of eligible voters – get to ask the senator
from Vermont some questions. One says “I’ve never had any formal sex education.”
Sanders: “You’ve never had what?” (Dan says that he recovers after having not heard.)
One says climate change seems fake. “You’re wrong,” Sanders tells her, per the Washington
Post. Another asks about the Middle East, in particular the war in Iraq. Sanders stresses that
he wants to keep American soldiers out of conflicts there. “I went to funeral after funeral of kids
not much older than you are.”
His campaign has also just released a letter about Sanders’ health from his doctor of 26
years. “You are in overall very good health and active in your professional work,” the doctor
tells his patient, “and recreational lifestyle without limitation.”
2016-01-28 17:23:36 Alan Yuhas
95
Rwandan and Holocaust survivors form 'task force' for
fighting genocide
A new initiative to bring the survivors of various
genocides together to teach about mass murder
and, hopefully, prevent such events from
occurring in the future, was announced at a joint
gathering of Rwandan genocide and Holocaust
survivors on Wednesday in New York.
According to Jonny Daniels, the director of the
organization From the Depths, which is
organizing the initiative, the “program is
comprised of taking American students to
Rwanda with survivors of the Holocaust and to
the sites of the Nazi atrocities in Eastern Europe.”
"As the third and fourth generations of Holocaust survivors, we have a social responsibility to
stand as witnesses to the witnesses and against all genocides regardless of who they are
perpetrated against," Daniels said in a statement.
The survivors came together at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, whose Rabbi, Arthur
Schneier, is a recipient of the US Presidential Citizens Medal and has been at the forefront of
Jewish-Catholic dialogue for decades.
2016-01-28 17:19:00 SAM SOKOL
96
Car-making deals, protests greet Iranian president in Paris
Sanders camp: We can't schedule debates only
when Clinton's campaign feels under pressure
Bernie Sanders has 4-point lead over Hillary
Clinton in Iowa: poll
Donald Trump warning prompts RNC leaders to
scrap plans to change convention rules
RICHARD RAHN: Socialism means coercion
NEWT GINGRICH: See your dermatologist: a
personal report
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Obama's David Petraeus obsession
Susan Sarandon blasts Hillary Clinton: 'What has she done that we're bragging about?'
ANDREW NAPOLITANO: Hillary Clinton's nightmare is an SAP email program
Veterans groups to Donald Trump: Keep your money
MONICA CROWLEY: How Donald Trump made anger legit
- Associated Press - By ELAINE GANLEY
97
U-19 World Cup: Sarfaraz, Washington guide India to 79-run
win over Ireland
Mirpur (Bangladesh) : Sarfaraz Khan and
Washington Sundar blasted twin half-centuries
as India notched up a comprehensive 79-run
win over Ireland in their opening match to make
a resounding start to their campaign at the ICC
Under-19 World Cup here on Thursday.
Sarfaraz (74) and Washington (62) shared 110
runs in 17.2 overs to pull India from 55 for 4 and
post a competitive 268 for nine in their
stipulated 50 overs after Ireland won the toss
and decided to field.
Indian u-19 team celebrating the fall of a Irish wicket. Pic/ICC
India then returned to dismiss Ireland for 189 in 49.1 overs, despite fifties by Lorcan Tucker
(57) and William McClintock (58) in the Group D match played at the Shere Bangla National
Stadium here.
Chasing 269 to win, Ireland had a disastrous start as both their openers Jack Tector (1) and
Stephen Doheny (4) were sent back to the pavillion within four overs after being run-out by
Armaan Jaffer and skipper Ishan Kishan respectively.
First down, Adam Dennison (20) too was dismissed in the 15th over when he tried to glide a
Rahul Batham (3/15) delivery to the third man only to be caught by Ricky Bhui at first slip.
Two overs later, Batham picked up his second wicket when he had Gary McClintock caught
at first slip by Bhui as Ireland slumped to 46 for four in 16.2 overs.
Lorcan Tucker (57) and William McClintock (58) then shared a crucial 113 run partnership for
the fifth wicket to help Ireland recover to 159 for five. However, Zeeshan Ansari got rid of
McClintock with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant knocking the bails off after he tried to go for a big
shot.
Harry Tector (3) was removed by Avesh Khan in the 45th over as Ireland slipped to 165 for
six.
With pressure mounting, Rory Anders (6), Joshua Little (0), Tom Stanton (4) went for big shots
and perished in the process. Tucker was the last man to be dismissed.
Earlier put into bat, India suffered a big blow when they lost their skipper Kishan (0) in the
third ball of the innings when he tried to poke at an away going delivery and was caught by
wicket-keeper Lorcan Tucker off Little (3/52).
Rishabh Pant (6) and Ricky Bhui (39) then tried to steady the innings but the former was sent
packing in the 12th over when he edged a Anders delivery and was caught behind by Tucker.
Anders (3/35) then came back to dismiss Bhui in his next over when he hit straight to covers
and Adam Dennison took an easy catch.
Newman Armaan Jaffer too could not stay longer as his 15-ball stay was cut short by Gary
McClintock (1/35) as India slipped to 55 for four in 16.5 overs.
Sarfaraz and Washington then took the onus on themselves and added 110 runs in 17.2
overs to resurrect India's innings to 165 for five in 34.1 overs.
Sarfaraz Khan in action during his match-winning knock. Pic/ICC
The former then tried to go for a slog shot and paid the price as he was stumped by Tucker off
Harry Tector. Sarfaraz blasted seven boundaries in his 70-ball innings.
Next batsman Mahipal Lomror (17) too was dismissed cheaply but Washington and Zeeshan
Ansari (36) then took India across the 200-mark before the former was removed by Anders
with Dennison taking the catch.
Zeeshan's run-a-ball 36 which included two boundaries took India across the 250-mark.
2016-01-28 17:14:35 By PTI | Posted 5 hours
98
Our Principles PAC: 'Tough Questions' | Campaign 2016
- Anti-Trump PAC 'Our Principles' released this
ad Jan. 28, attacking Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump for skipping the final
Republican debate before the Iowa caucuses
and for his stance on immigration. ()
January 28, 2016 20160128 The Washington Post The
Washington Post
99
Trooper shot on I-75 South:
timeline
The scene: about a mile north of Delk Road on I-75 South, Wednesday afternoon at the start
of rush hour. All times are approximate:
3:30: A state trooper lights up a dark blue
Chevrolet Silverado for driving 98 mph on I-75
south near Chastain Road in Kennesaw. The
speed limit there is 70. The truck driver refuses
to pull over and keeps going.
3:45: Two more state troopers join in the pursuit.
They try to box in the truck in the far left lane,
near the median wall, but the pickup rear-ends
another vehicle and is forced to stop.
3:45: The pickup’s driver, identififed late Wednesday as Israel Vladimir Rodriguez, and three
state troopers exchange gunfire. Trooper Jacob Fields is struck in the lower abdomen, below
his bulletproof vest, and in the leg. Rodriguez, 26, suffers multiple bullet wounds.
4:00: Trooper Fields and Rodriguez are transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in
Marietta.
4:15: All six lanes of I-75 South are designated a crime scene; police have shut down all
southbound traffic.
4:25: Marietta police tweet that all lanes remain closed and that southbound traffic is being
diverted onto South Marietta Parkway, which quickly stacks up.
5:00: State troopers and Cobb County and Marietta police officials have all converged on the
scene. The GBI is headed there to take over the investigation of the shootings.
6:55: One southbound lane reopens, Marietta police report.
7:00: Rodriguez is out of surgery and is sent to intensive care. Surgery for Trooper Fields is
expected later Wednesday night.
10:20: All southbound lanes of I-75 re-open.
10:30: Rodriguez dies at the hospital.
2016-01-28 19:16:57 - For The Ajc
100
US stocks waver as energy stocks rise and health care
sinks
In this Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, photo, the
American flag flies above the Wall Street
entrance to the New York Stock Exchange, in
New York. U. S. stocks are wavering between
small gains and losses Thursday, Jan. 28,
2016, following a sharp sell-off the day before.
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
2016-01-28 17:11:00 Associated Press
Total 100 articles.
Created at 2016-01-29 00:09