Guwahati, Apr 28 (PTI) Bharat Ratna Prof C N R Rao today advised the students Gauhati University to cope with upcoming challenges with defined goals and urged them to take science and good education to the deprived children.Delivering the 26th convocation address of the University, Rao appealed the degree holders to take science as well as good education to the doors of the deprived children, specially in the villages.”I hope that those of you who are interested in science and research will not give up this ambition. You can become a scientist at any stage of your life. It does not matter what degree you have, whether it is a science degree or an engineering degree,” he said.Assam Governor and Chancellor of the University Banwarilal Purohit said “Gauhati University has scaled heights of honour and glory and in the recent NIRF (2017) by MHRD, it has secured the 27th rank among Universities in India.””This is a proud moment and the credit for it goes to the students, the faculty and the administration collectively.He asked the students to build a strong moral character and display highest degree of honesty in personal and professional life and contribute to make India corruption free.It was a moment of jubilation and pride for 1,400 students of the University who were conferred bachelors, masters, MPhil and PhD degrees in the convocation.Prof Rao and veteran Assamese litterateur Nilmani Phookan were awarded with D.Litt (Honoris Causa), while renowned Assamese classical dance artiste Hem Chandra Goswami, artist and painter Col Jiten Hazarika, social activist, lyricist and film maker from Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Tata and social activist and sports personality from Nagaland Tasile N Zeliang were honoured with Doctorate degree (Honoris Causa).advertisementVice Chancellor of the University Dr Mridul Hazarika said “Gauhati University represent the indomitable spirit of the people of Assam and their untiring efforts to realise their dreams of having an institute of higher learning in this region.” PTI ESB DKB
New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) Indian boxings national observer Akhil Kumar today rejected insinuation of conflict of interest in his appointment, saying that casting aspersions on him is unfair as he is neither a beneficiary of government schemes nor a part of the national camp.Reacting sharply to reports that his appointment by the Sports Ministry was against the rules, Akhil, a former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist and World Cup bronze- medallist, told PTI that the controversy has left him flummoxed.”People say that top-level sportspersons should come into the mainstream to promote sports in India. When we are doing that, controversies are being created,” Akhil, who is no longer an amateur boxer and has turned professional, said.”When I competed in my last amateur boxing competition, which was Asian Games 2014, and reached round of 16, people said he is a veteran with lots of injuries, his sporting career is over,” he recalled.”Being an experienced Olympian and veteran boxer, the Government of India has appointed me as a National Observer but now people are saying I am an active sportsperson preparing for CWG and Asian Games 2018,” he laughed.The 36-year-old, who was a quarterfinalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had recently recommended youth boxer Shashi Chopra into the national camp. The Haryana-teen went on to win a gold medal at the youth World Championships last month.”For the information of my well-wishers, I have not participated in any national and international tournament since Asian Games 2014. I am just pursuing my professional boxing career,” he explained.advertisementAkhil was among the 12 current and former athletes, who were made national observers in March this year to ensure better monitoring of Olympic sports.”At present, I am not an active amateur sportsperson. I am competing in professional boxing which has no concern with the Boxing Federation of India, SAI and GOI. Pro Boxing has no concern with government funding or national camps,” he said.The national observers include the likes of Olympic- gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, double Olympic- medallist Sushil Kumar and boxing legend M C Mary Kom among others.Of these, Sushil and Mary Kom are still active in their respective sports. Mary Kom was, in fact, Indias lone gold- medallist at the Asian Championships last month.Akhil stated that since he is not benefitting from any government funding nor is he in line for selection at the national camp, implying conflict of interest in his role is ridiculous.”I observe, analyse, review and report on the performance of Indian and foreign coaches and the progress of performance of the national campers and I am not a part of the national camp.”I help to identify medal prospects under TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme), finalise training programmes of chosen athletes and monitor their performance. I am not in the line for TOP Scheme,” he said.”Then where is the conflict of interest?” he asked. PTI PM ATK ATK
Photo Attribution: US PresswireWell we kind of knew this was coming, didn’t we? The crazier part than Dez Bryant getting arrested is that Dez Bryant went 8,655 days on earth without getting arrested.That sounds harsh until you remember how many brushes he’s had with authorities (Weezy, jewelry, Northpark mall, etc.) since getting drafted. The report says that it was a domestic violence issue with a family member before stating that eight-eight had a “brief telephone interview” in which he said:I’m good, I’m good.Makes James Anderson seem like Charles Barkley by comparison.Dez’s lawyer seemingly tries to downplay the event by stating:The reality is we haven’t heard a lot about Dez Bryant at all since the season.Right, which is how it should be. Hopefully this will be nothing beyond some sort of misunderstanding gone wrong and everything will settle down (and it would seem that way given the fact that he turned himself in), the official report is supposed to come out tomorrow. I’d also like to still point out that collegiate touchdowns isn’t the only place that Dez still trails one Justin Blackmon.If you’re looking for the comments section, it has moved to our forum, The Chamber. You can go there to comment and holler about these articles, specifically in these threads. You can register for a free account right here and will need one to comment.If you’re wondering why we decided to do this, we wrote about that here. Thank you and cheers!
A contract valued at $722.5 million was awarded to Surrey Paving and Aggregate Co. Limited for the redevelopment of Hampden Wharf phase one in Falmouth, Trelawny.This was disclosed by Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, during Wednesday’s (July 11) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.The Hampden Wharf project, to be funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), includes establishment of an artisan village that will accommodate 30 shops on 540 square metres of the land owned by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ).Other aspects of the project include extension of the port; paved surfaces with mixed textures and defined paths; landscaped areas; storyboards where applicable; adaptive reuse of historic buildings; and a rich mix of retail and local eateries, craft and history.
Bangkok: The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Saturday gathered in Bangkok for a summit to discuss economic matters affecting the region amid the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, as well as to broach an array of policies promoting a path toward greater sustainability. The Prime Ministers and Presidents of the 10-nation bloc – which was founded in 1967 and is currently made up of Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – were set to inaugurate later in the day the 34th bi-annual summit’s plenary session, which is scheduled to end on Sunday. Also Read – Maruti cuts production for 8th straight month in Sep The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-ocha – whose country currently chairs the bloc, 10 years after its last chairmanship – had warned on the eve of the gathering of ASEAN leaders that the US-China trade war was creating uncertainty in the global economy, reported Efe news. “We have to alleviate this tension and create a greater balance,” said the head of the Thai government, who took power following a military coup in 2014 and was recently ratified as PM after a controversial general election in March. Also Read – Ensure strict implementation on ban of import of e-cigarettes: revenue to Customs Under the theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, the bloc seeks to boost environmental measures as several countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are moving toward banning imports of non-recyclable waste. “At a time our region is facing challenges and uncertainty, sustainability is a solution with the aim of creating the best conditions for regional stability and sustained economic growth,” said Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai during the opening speech of the ministerial meeting. The bloc’s Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministers were also set to meet on Saturday in an attempt to reach a consensus on advancing toward the so-called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with ASEAN’s external partners. The RCEP is a proposed multilateral free trade deal that would make it the world’s largest economic bloc due to the inclusion of Asian giants China, Japan, India and South Korea – the continent’s four leading economies, in that order – as well as Australia and New Zealand. It would cover a territory with a combined population of 3.4 billion people – around 40 per cent of the world’s inhabitants – and represent a similar proportion of the global economy. The agreement’s details are expected to be hammered out before the end of 2019. “In this summit, we aim to conclude it as a single stance of ASEAN that we want to complete the negotiation of RCEP by the end of this year,” Auramon Supthaweethum, Director-General of the Thai Department of Trade Negotiations, had said on the summit’s eve. The President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, had said before departing Manila that he would include in the agenda the territorial disputes between China and his country over sovereignty in the South China Sea, an issue that also affects other ASEAN members like Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. Duterte has in the past repeatedly said that even though the countries are friends, the Asian giant shouldn’t claim “an entire ocean” for itself and has warned of the dangers this stance could imply. “I love China, but it behooves us to ask: is it right for a country to claim the whole ocean?” he rhetorically asked during a speech in Tokyo at the end of May. In early June, a collision between a fishing boat from the Philippines and a Chinese vessel sparked outrage among Filipino nationalist groups, despite the close ties between Manila and Beijing, who have both downplayed the incident’s importance. Around 30 per cent of the world’s maritime trade passes through the South China Sea, home to thousands of islets and atolls scattered over an area that contains important fisheries and potential oil and gas deposits.
Six stories in the news for Monday, Nov. 12———PM WARNS OF POLITICIANS’ MISUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau says politicians need to learn how to enhance citizen engagement through the use of social media in the face of leaders using those platforms to undermine democracy. He made the comment this morning while speaking at a conference in Paris. Without mentioning any names, he suggested there are politicians who are using the technology to foster polarization in the electorate. U.S. President Donald Trump, of course, is notorious for using angry tweets to fire up his legions of followers and vent at his critics.———UCP MEMBER APOLOGIZES FOR COMMENTS ON LGBTQ FLAGA member of Alberta’s United Conservative Party is apologizing for making a comparison between the rainbow LGBTQ pride flag and swastikas. John Carpay issued a statement last night to clarify remarks he made at a weekend conference in Calgary organized by the conservative news outlet Rebel Media. Carpay says he was talking about totalitarianism when he “referred in the same sentence” to the rainbow flag and the flags bearing Nazi and communist symbols. In doing so, he says he “unintentionally drew a broad comparison” between them.———INUIT PLAN SAYS TOO MANY POLAR BEARS THREATENING PUBLIC SAFETYThere are too many polar bears in parts of Nunavut and climate change hasn’t yet affected any of them, says a draft management plan from the territorial government that contradicts much of conventional scientific thinking. The proposed plan — which is to go to public hearings in Iqaluit on Tuesday — says growing bear numbers are increasingly jeopardizing public safety and it’s time Inuit knowledge drove management policy. Polar bears killed two Inuit last summer.———POT COMPANY HOPES TO FILL LOST MILL JOBSA cannabis company says it plans to build a grow facility in Merritt, B.C., and replace the jobs that were lost in a sawmill closure two years ago. Emerald Plants Health Source purchased a massive chunk of land and plans to build an initial three-thousand-square-metre facility before building up to potentially more than 100-thousand square metres. Two hundred people lost their jobs when the Tolko mill closed in 2016 and the cannabis company hopes to hire more than 200 workers once it’s up and running.———CROWD WATCHES AS BACKHOE RIPS INTO MANGLED PLANECrews have begun tearing into the mangled Boeing 747 cargo jet that overshot a Halifax runway last week. Dozens of people watched yesterday as a backhoe dug into the midsection of the fuselage, which buckled when the empty SkyLease Cargo plane overshot the runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Wednesday. The huge plane’s landing gear collapsed and two of its engines were torn off as it skidded along for 210 metres, coming perilously close to a public road.———VIOLA DESMOND BILL BEGINS CIRCULATION NEXT WEEKA new $10 banknote featuring Viola Desmond’s portrait will go into circulation in a week, just over 72 years after she was ousted from the whites-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow, N.S. The civil rights pioneer and businesswoman is the first Canadian woman to be featured on a regularly circulating banknote, which will also show a map of Halifax’s historic north end, home to one of Canada’s oldest black communities and the site where Desmond opened her first salon.———ALSO IN THE NEWS:— Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon holds a Montreal press conference about the aerospace industry.— Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Toronto.— Aurora Cannabis Inc. will hold a conference call to discuss first quarter results.— First-degree murder trial in Vancouver for Garry Handlen, accused of the 1978 slaying of 12-year-old Monica Jack.———The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump turned the firing of NBC’s Matt Lauer into a fresh opportunity to attack the press Wednesday, unleashing a series of cryptic and personal tweets aimed at prominent media figures.As many Americans were eating breakfast, the president swiftly responded to the abrupt dismissal of the longtime “Today” show host by condemning NBC News and its Philadelphia-based parent company, Comcast Corp. Trump said on Twitter: “Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour in the workplace.’ But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News.”Trump then referenced the NBC News chairman, adding: “Check out Andy Lack’s past!” It was not immediately clear what that comment referred to. In another tweet, the president used Lauer’s firing to lash out at “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough and MSNBC President Phil Griffin.NBC declined to comment on Trump’s tweets. It announced Wednesday that it had terminated Lauer after receiving a “detailed complaint” from a colleague about sexual misconduct.Trump’s comment on “Fake News” was a reiteration of his long-standing complaints about mainstream news outlets that he contends have covered his presidency unfairly and inaccurately. Trump, who often deems stories that he doesn’t like to be fake news, has maintained an ongoing battle with the media.His latest tweets follow a spate of posts in recent days denigrating the press, including one in which he suggested a contest to determine “the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted” news organization. He added: “Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!”As a presidential candidate, Trump often criticized individual reporters by name at his massive, free-wheeling rallies. Wednesday’s tweets carried a sharply personal tone against a network that made Trump one of its biggest stars on “The Apprentice.”Speaking of Griffin, Trump tweeted that in light of Lauer’s departure, “when will the Fake News practitioners at NBC be terminating the contract of Phil Griffin?”Turning to Scarborough, Trump wrote: “And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the “unsolved mystery” that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!”The president may have been referring to the 2001 death of an employee for Scarborough when he was serving as a Republican congressman from Florida. The 28-year-old woman was found dead in the congressman’s district office. A doctor who performed her autopsy said she suffered an abnormal heart rhythm, and police said at the time there were no signs of foul play.Scarborough responded with his own tweet: “Looks like I picked a good day to stop responding to Trump’s bizarre tweets. He is not well.”Trump has had a running feud with Scarborough and his “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski. After the two questioned Trump’s mental stability on their show, Trump last summer issued a crude tweet questioning Brzezinski’s intelligence, looks and temperament.The president’s tweets seeking to undermine the media have been a mainstay of Trump’s first year in office. The latest examples come amid tension over an upcoming White House holiday party.CNN, which is among Trump’s favourite targets, announced Tuesday that the network’s reporters would not be attending Friday’s White House Christmas party, an annual tradition in which reporters and administration officials interact in a more relaxed setting.“In light of the president’s continued attacks on freedom of the press and CNN, we do not feel it is appropriate to celebrate with him as his invited guests,” the network said in a statement, adding that it intended to send “a White House reporting team to the event” to cover any news.White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to the CNN announcement with a celebratory tweet, writing, “Christmas comes early! Finally, good news from @CNN.”Trump piled on, tweeting: “Great, and we should boycott Fake News CNN. Dealing with them is a total waste of time!”Journalists with The Associated Press also have been invited to the White House party. The news organization leaves it up to individual reporters to attend at their discretion.Over the weekend, Trump went after CNN International on Twitter, saying the network was “a major source of (Fake) news” outside the U.S. and complained that they “represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly.”“The outside world does not see the truth from them!” he wrote.It was an especially pointed attack on a news organization that prides itself on its international coverage.CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer noted during Monday’s broadcast that the network’s reporters risk their lives across the globe on a daily basis. “No matter how many insults or blatant assaults on the press and its freedoms, this pursuit is something for which we will never bend or break and even the loudest critics can’t silence the facts,” he said.___On Twitter, follow Ken Thomas at @KThomasDC.
MONTREAL — Yellow Pages Ltd. says its lockout of sales representatives in the province of Quebec has been lifted after they ratified a new three-year collective agreement.The Montreal-based publisher of digital and paper-based advertising announced in mid-September that it was locking out about 130 of its unionized employees after the two sides failed to reach a labour agreement. It announced Sunday that the workers were scheduled to return to work immediately but neither the company nor the union released details about the terms of the new contract.The Federation des travailleurs du Quebec (FTQ) announced separately that the deal was ratified by 65 per cent of the members who voted Sunday in Laval, Que.The union executive had recommended ratification of the deal due to the company’s intransigence and its financial difficulties.Earlier this month, Yellow Pages announced it had achieved a $27.1-million profit for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, due to cost-cutting including workforce reductions, asset sales and a $18.3-million reversal in income tax provisions. Revenue for the three months was down 26 per cent from the third quarter of 2017, to $130.1 million from $175.7 million. Companies in this story: (TSX:Y)The Canadian Press
20 September 2011The risk of polio spreading from Pakistan is high, particularly given the expected mass travel for the upcoming Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the United Nations warned today, calling for full vigilance abroad and a scaling up of “inadequate” counter-efforts within the country. “It is important that countries across Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean strengthen disease surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), in order to rapidly detect any poliovirus importations and facilitate a rapid response should importation occur,” the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said of the potentially fatal and paralyzing disease.The Hajj pilgrimage for Muslims is slated to take place in early November.In a global alert and response update, the agency reported that a wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) isolated in China was genetically linked to that currently circulating in Pakistan, where nationwide transmission has so far infected 84 people this year, compared to 48 for the same period of 2010.Pakistan, one of only four countries where polio remains endemic – the others are Afghanistan, India and Nigeria – has also seen the only wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) case in 2011, a strain that is on the verge of elimination in Asia, and WHO urged countries to continue to boost routine immunization coverage against all strains to minimize the impact of any introduction.“In 2011, supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) in Pakistan have been inadequate in quality in key high-risk areas,” it said, noting that more than 200,000 children have been regularly missed during SIAs conducted over the last two years in security-compromised parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), in particular in Khyber agency.“In addition to challenges relating to reaching children in insecure areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, significant operational challenges continue to mar the quality of SIAs in accessible areas of Khyber and in other key transmission areas of the country, notably in the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh,” it added, warning that undetected circulation also cannot be ruled out due to persistent sub-national surveillance gaps.WHO said the impact of a Pakistani Government emergency plan launched this year is not yet being seen at the critical programme implementation level, although further immunization days are planned.“However, key to success will be to overcome remaining operational challenges in fully-accessible areas and implemented special outreach strategies with full community participation to increase access to populations in security-compromised areas,” it added. “To achieve this, full and consistent engagement and accountability at provincial, district and union-council level is urgently needed.”Travellers to and from Pakistan should be fully protected by vaccination, with those who have in the past received three or more doses of oral vaccine offered another dose before departure, WHO reported.Unimmunized individuals should complete a full course while travellers from Pakistan should have a full course of vaccinations before leaving, with a minimum one dose of before departure. Some polio-free countries may also require travellers from Pakistan to be immunized against polio to obtain an entry visa, it added.Since the launch in 1988 of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by WHO, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Rotary International and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of polio has been reduced by more than 99 per cent. At the time, more than 350,000 children were paralyzed every year in more than 125 endemic countries. So far in 2011, some 325 cases have been reported worldwide.
“As a post-conflict country, Liberia has benefited immensely from multi mediation efforts ranging from national, regional and international initiatives aimed at restoring and maintaining stability in the country,” Vice-President Joseph N. Boakai told the General Assembly during the annual general debate, stressing that the UN has a central role in promoting mediation, with the good offices of the Secretary-General remaining critical.“Our experience leads us to suggest that greater emphasis be placed on preventive measures, and that the tools of mediation be employed as soon as early warning signs of conflict emerge. The benefits of establishing an early warning system that will deal with potentially explosive situations before they degenerate into full-blown infernos are obvious.”Noting that it is nearly a decade since the UN peacekeeping Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was sent to the West African country to help restore normalcy, Mr. Boakai voiced pleasure at the fact that his nation has been targeted by the UN Peacebuilding Commission which seeks to prevent post-conflict countries from relapsing back into bloodshed.Earlier this month the Security Council extended UNMIL, which has an authorized strength of 7,952 military and 1,375 police personnel, for another year, stressing the supporting role it will play in next month’s presidential and legislative elections, only the second such polls since the end of the civil war almost a decade ago. The elections “will test our commitment to democratic governance and peaceful co-existence,” Mr. Boakai said. “Every action is being taken to ensure that the elections are free, fair, transparent and credible. We invite the participation of the international community to observe and monitor these elections.”He listed the steps the Government had taken in national recovery and postwar reconstruction, including programmes to stimulate higher levels of productivity, revive basic services, restore infrastructure and re-establish the rule of law. “Despite the significant gains made in improving conditions of living of our people, we realize that far more needs to be done to fully meet their aspirations,” he said, citing negative economic forces continue that hamper global growth and noting that food security remains a concern for many developing countries.As have many other African leaders, he called for reform of the 15-member Security Council to reflect the realities of the 21st century with greater representation for the continent. 26 September 2011Liberia, where United Nations intervention helped to close the chapter on a disastrous 14-year civil war and open the way to democratic elections and stability, today urged the international community to place a greater focus on preventive measures before crises erupt.
Additional video: Hamilton Police news conference (Update)It’s been 9 and a half years since Jay Page was viciously murdered in his Hamilton apartment. But Monday, Hamilton police announced an arrest in his killing. But investigators are still searching for more suspects.Hamilton police arrested 37-year old Richard Bennett and charged him with first-degree murder. Bennett has been a person of interest in this case for a long time. And police say he is only one of a number of suspects, but there is hope for the victims family that this is a huge break in the case.Roger Page was Jayès father: “They promised us this case would be solved, and they kept their promise.”Jay page was 29 years old when he was killed. He was father to a 7-year old son, and saving for a house with his girlfriend. 9 and a half years after the killing, today brings some closure for his familyRoger said: “The heartbreak of it is that, although we are pleased with the arrest, nothing will bring Jay back to us.”Jay page was killed on July 29th 2004. His body was found by his girlfriend in their apartment. His hands were bound, he had been stabbed many times. Police exhausted all leads in the investigation, releasing security footage of a suspect using page’s bank card moments after the killing, also giving a specific description, but years later, no justice for Pages family.Marlene Page in 2010: “It’s not easy getting up every morning, not knowing, why, why this happens to your family.”In 2010, police even offered a $50,000 reward. Today they said Page and Bennett knew each other through work.Detective Sgt. Paul Hamilton: “Mr. Bennett was known uh to this investigation from the get go.”In 2012, Hamilton police dedicated more resources to this case, and worked with the centre for forensic science, as well as a private DNA lab in Pittsburgh. Richard Bennett is currently serving time on an unrelated offense and was arrested at the Central North Correctional Centre in Pennetanguisine. And though they have an arrest, there is more to come.Detective Hamilton said: “We know Richard Bennett did not act alone, and we are now focusing on other suspects. My message to them is simple; turn yourself in.”Police would not say if the suspect photo shown here is Richard Bennett. Only that they are looking for at least 2 more people. Bennett was transferred from Peneteguishine here to Hamilton where he was formally charged with first-degree murder.
“He is encouraged by recent efforts by the two countries to build confidence in their relations and to address outstanding problems,” Mr. Annan said in a statement released by his spokesman, in which he offered his own help.”The Secretary-General is following with interest the recent proposal by India of a number of confidence-building measures and Pakistan’s response to them,” the statement added. “He urges the two countries to continue these efforts with patience and resolve. The Secretary-General remains at their disposal to assist in any way they consider mutually beneficial.” Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since the two countries won independence from the United Kingdom more than 50 years ago.
“We only have a few precious months to help those wishing to return home,” said World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Country Director for the southern African country, Sonsoles Ruedas. She noted that it was even more crucial that the international community steps forward now since repatriations can only take place between June and October due to seasonal rains. “For those people who have already returned, it’s going to be a battle to eke out an existence during the rainy season without assistance. I really don’t know how they are going to survive,” she added. WFP has received only $45 million – or 18 per cent – of its appeal for $253 million to feed 1.4 million returning refugees and displaced people until the end of 2005, forcing it to slash cereal rations by half. Unless there are immediate new donations, no cereals at all will be distributed in September, when the lean season starts. The agency estimates that it will need a minimum of $81.5 million just for the rest of this year for those who have already returned home or are scheduled to be repatriated from neighbouring Zambia, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some of them after spending decades in exile. “Many face unimaginable misery when they return home,” Ms. Ruedas said. “Clean drinking water from protected sources is rare, there are very few schools or health clinics and electricity remains only a dream in vast areas of the country. Now there is also very little food, which is essential if the repatriation process is to be successful.” Less than 5 percent of all arable land is cultivated in Angola due to a combination of landmines, and lack of seeds, fertilizer and draught animals. A recent joint assessment mission from the WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that cereal production is growing and the number of people needing food aid is falling, but that many challenges remain for the country which has enjoyed peace and stability since April 2002, when a ceasefire agreement was signed between the government and the rebel Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
Life after death – one million years later. Brock University geologist Martin Head and a team of international researchers have discovered a living plankton species that scientists had thought was extinct for the past million years.“This is the last remaining species of a plankton lineage that was very common about 50 million years ago,” Head says of the dinoflagellate plankton Dapsilidinium pastielsii, which until now was believed to have died out during the early Pleistocene period.The researchers discovered the species after sampling the bottom of an area of the Pacific Ocean called the “Indo-Pacific Warm Pool” off coasts from Japan to Indonesia. Plankton are a group of organisms found in fresh and sea water that drift with the currents. These organisms – which include algae, protists and bacteria – are vital end members in a food chain that nourishes fish, whales and other higher marine life.Preserved in the fossil record are the cysts of the plankton dinoflagellate, which resemble a minute blob covered with thin, pointed spines. Cysts are single-celled egg-like structures that house the tiny organism for a time until it breaks out, much like a caterpillar from a cocoon. These “resting cysts” – found at the bottom of the ocean – have an outer wall made of durable materials that enable them to be preserved in the geological record, well after their cell contents have died and decomposed. Head says the team sieved the sediment and found dinoflagellate cysts, which caught their attention. They then “removed that particular cyst, put it into an incubation chamber, and hatched it out under controlled conditions using single-cell manipulation.”“We then photographed the empty cyst because the empty cyst is what you’d find in the geological record,” he says. “We recognized this as being essentially a living fossil.”Head says the team then did a genetic study of that particular dinoflagellate and compared it to the genomes of other modern dinoflagellate species.“We couldn’t get anything like a close match. If you think about it, this is the last remaining species of a lineage that is traced all the way back to 50 million years ago. No wonder nothing else living today is going to be similar genetically,” he says.The Indo-Pacific Warm Pool has not changed temperatures very much over eons, even during glacial periods, says Head. He says this ancient dinoflagellate species would have migrated – and survived – there during cold times. Head predicts that this and other warm-loving plankton will proliferate as world temperatures increase, calling this plankton species a “potential barometer” of climate change.“In the geological past the species was much more widely distributed during warmer periods, and contracted with the onset of glacial conditions,” he says. “That’s when it was thought to have gone extinct, about a million years ago.”Head says he and the team – led by Belgian researcher Kenneth Mertens – are excited by their findings.“Understanding the past does help us to understand and predict the future,” said Head. “This research gives us a window into the biology and the genetic makeup of a lineage that was very common 50 million years ago. It helps us understand how the plankton have evolved in that space of time.”
The Ohio State men’s hockey team just keeps on rolling. OSU came into a Friday afternoon contest against No. 14-ranked Northern Michigan unbeaten in its last five games, but fell behind Wildcats, 1-0, in the first period. The Buckeyes responded with four unanswered goals over the final two periods, however, and upset Northern Michigan, 4-1. OSU Sophomore forward Alex Szczechura tied the game in the second period and a third-period tally by sophomore forward Chris Crane put OSU in front for good. Senior captain Cory Schneider scored two goals late in regulation to clinch the upset. “I thought we got better as the game went on,” OSU coach Mark Osiecki said after the game. “We’re all about competing and work and goals by committee… It’s fun to coach these kids.” The Wildcats struck first, scoring on a shot from sophomore center Stephan Vigier shot at 16:07 in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Junior left winger Kory Kaunisto assisted on the tally, the only for either team in the first period. The Buckeyes came out firing in the second period. OSU took 12 second-period shots, and one found the back of the net early. Szczechura out-muscled a defender behind Northern Michigan senior goalie Reid Ellingson’s net. Szczechura then wrapped around the goal before firing a shot home from close range to tie the score at 1-1. “(We were) working hard down low and I just kind of got (the puck) and took it to the net,” Szczechura said of his goal. “Luckily for me, it just went in. Nothing special about it.” Two Wildcats penalties gave OSU a 5-on-3 advantage just minutes later, but Ellingson denied four Buckeyes’ shots and Northern Michigan held OSU off. OSU outshot Northern Michigan, 17-8, through two periods, but the 1-1 score held as the third period began. At 10:38 of the final period, Northern Michigan freshman defenseman Jake Baker received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for an open-ice hit on OSU senior Danny Dries. After having his head illegally contacted by Baker, Dries eventually returned to his feet. Moments later, the Buckeyes made the Wildcats pay on the resulting power play when Crane poked a goal passed Ellingson to put OSU up. “They took a five-minute major and we capitalized,” Crane said. “Going hard to the net — that’s our mentality as Ohio State and it worked out for us.” With just more than two minutes to play Schneider, a forward, jammed a goal passed Ellingson to clinch the upset. Schneider also added an empty-net goal in the final minute of play. Senior goalie Cal Heeter stopped 13-of-14 shots in the game to preserve the win, which improved OSU’s record to 7-3-1 overall and 4-2-1-1 in the CCHA. The Wildcats fall to 4-3-3 overall and 1-2-3-2 in the CCHA. The two teams will meet again at the Schottenstein Center Saturday with the opening face-off set for 7:05 p.m.
Nokia generated a fair amount of buzz for the Lumia 900 ahead of its launch, and the phone didn’t disappoint critics when it arrived. Our own Russell Holly said it was “easily the best phone for the money.” At the time, that meant for $100 on contract. Now, just three months later, Nokia has cut the price in half.This isn’t the first time the Lumia 900 has sold at a discount. Back in May it turned up on Amazon for $49.99, and Nokia also offered owners a $100 bill credit (which covered the whole subsidized price of the phone) when widespread data network connectivity issues were reported in April.This time, however, it’s thought that the price reduction is a response to sliding sales. Early on, the Lumia 900 sold incredibly well — analytics firm Compete pegged it at near-iPhone levels in the early going. But with price cuts to phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus, and the arrival of the Motorola Atrix HD (which is selling for just $99), the competition was fierce.Will the price drop help sales? Probably not. Don’t forget that Microsoft recently announced that no current phones would be receiving the upgrade to Windows Phone 8 when it arrived this fall. That means new Lumia buyers will soon be stuck with a last-gen operating system. The Lumia also sports a single-core 1.4GHz chip and 480 x 800 pixel display at a time when competitors are launching with quad core processors and 720 x 1280 screens.Nokia has been encouraged by their first foray into Windows Phone, and the company feels that the early success of the Lumia 900 has given them a boost in North America. October is still a long way away, however, so it could be tough for the company’s new Windows Phone 8 handsets to kick things off the way the 900 did.More at Reuters
Stay on target Wired in 2014 published an inside look at the contract workers tasked with finding and deleting inappropriate content on Facebook and other social networks, which often outsource much of their refereeing to other countries.“Keeping people on Facebook safe is the most important thing we do. We work hard to make Facebook as safe as possible while enabling free speech. This requires a lot of thought into detailed and often difficult questions, and getting it right is something we take very seriously,” Bickert told Geek.“In addition to investing in more people, we’re also building better tools to keep our community safe,” she added. “We’re going to make it simpler to report problems to us, faster for our reviewers to determine which posts violate our standards and easier for them to contact law enforcement if someone needs help.”Would you ignore or delete a photo of the confederate flag? Or an image of the 2003 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse? Take The Guardian‘s quiz, modeled after Facebook’s own tests, to see how you stack up against actual site moderators.Editor’s Note: This story was updated on May 23 with comment from Facebook. Podcasts Are TV Shows Now With ‘Limetown’ Trailer7 Icebreakers for Facebook’s New Dating Service 
From Harvard’s student body to global Internet users, Facebook has grown into the world’s leading social networking service.But has it gotten too big for its britches?The company, which launched in 2004 with the motto “Move fast and break things,” is picking up the pieces after its confidential rulebook on sex, violence, and terrorism was leaked.UK newspaper The Guardian, citing “more than 100 internal training manuals, spreadsheets, and flowcharts,” this week uncovered the truth about Facebook’s secret protocol for deciding what its billions of users can post on the site.“There are even guidelines on match-fixing and cannibalism,” the paper said.The release, dubbed “Facebook Files,” features “a small selection of slides” from various moderation manuals, including graphic violence, credible threats of violence, non-sexual child abuse, and cruelty to animals.While Facebook policies may seem clear to the general public, workers often struggle with in-house caveats. For instance, when determining sadism, moderators are told not to look at the subject of a photo or video, but rather at the poster’s commentary—verbal or typed.“Facebook cannot keep control of its content,” an unnamed source told The Guardian. “It has grown too big, too quickly.”Boasting 1.28 billion daily active users, the social network continues expanding every day. But can chief Mark Zuckerberg’s plan for 3,000 additional content reviewers really help curb the disturbing material posted to and streamed Facebook?“We have a really diverse global community, and people are going to have very different ideas about what is OK to share. No matter where you draw the line there is always going to be some grey areas,” Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of global policy management, told The Guardian. “The line between satire and humor and inappropriate content is sometimes very grey. It is very difficult to decide whether some things belong on the site or not.”Content is removed “upon report only,” meaning graphic images may be seen by millions before being flagged, analyzed, and pulled from the site. That puts a lot of pressure on moderators to act fast; add to that the stress of regular performance reviews, and it’s no wonder employees feel overwhelmed.Facebook acknowledged in a statement to The Guardian that its staff “have a challenging and difficult job.”“A lot of the content is upsetting. We want to make sure the reviewers are able to gain enough confidence to make the right decision, but also have the mental and emotional resources to stay healthy,” Facebook said, adding that “this is another big challenge for us.”
The League of Women Voters of Clark County is hosting several informative workshops this month to talk about voting and the primary election.The series is called Pizza & Primary Politics. Topics of discussion include the value of a primary vote, changing the government and encouraging people to run for office.The next workshop is from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Vancouver Community Library. The Cascade Park Community Library is the next stop from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. In Washougal, the series is from 3 to 5 p.m. July 28, also at the library.
Facebook Twitter Google+LinkedInPinterestWhatsAppBahamas, May 11, 2017 – Nassau – Premier Sharlene Robinson today phoned Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM) and incoming Prime Minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, to congratulate him on his Party’s success at the Polls.Premier Robinson remarked that the call was welcomed and well received.She has also issued a congratulatory letter on behalf of the People of the Turks and Caicos Islands which included the following sentiments:“It is without a doubt that the people of the Bahamas have spoken and their level of faith in both you as their leader and your government translated in the landslide delivery of thirty five candidates from the Bahamas FNM Party…”She continued in her letter. “…As politicians we have the great responsibility to effectively lay out the promises of our manifestos, hoping that others will share in our vision for our countries, but as Leaders we have an even greater responsibility, to deliver on those promises and fulfill the dreams that we have awaken in our people.”Premier Robinson has wished the new Prime Minister all the very best in his endeavors and committed to pray for him, his Government and his country.#magneticmedianews#premiercongratulateshurbertminnis Related Items:#magneticmedianews, #premiercongratulateshurbertminnis Facebook Twitter Google+LinkedInPinterestWhatsApp
A photo of Jignesh Mevani is doing the rounds on the internet which allegedly claims that the Gujarat MLA was beaten up in Begusarai.TwitterGujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, who had spearheaded a Dalit movement in his state a couple of years ago, had visited a protest in Ahmedabad last year after an activist Bhanubhai Vankar immolated himself over allotment of land to Dalits in Dudkha village of Patan.Vankar had set fire to himself on February 15 last year. A few days later, Jignesh Mevani had visited the protest site on February 18, in which he was ‘manhandled’ by the police. A year later a viral picture of the Dalit leader being beaten up is doing the rounds on social media. Mevani was in Begusarai to campaign for former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar who will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Begusarai constituency.TWITTERATI CLAIMSAccording to a Facebook user’s claim, Jignesh Mevani was slapped thrice and then bashed up separately in Begusarai .”The audacity of this fellow to land in Bihar after abusing and beating up scores of Biharis in Gujarat some months back…! He was incidentally there to campaign for Kanhaiya. That’s the way these traitors need to be treated,” read the post. This message is being circulated with a picture that shows Mevani in a scuffle with a mob. A similar message with the same picture read, “The JNU Brigade of Kannhaiya has been grounded by the youngsters. The entire team of city Maoists, including Jignesh Mewani and Kanhaiya, have been fiercely washed away today.” The English translation of the caption read: “This is not Gujarat, this is the land of Begusarai. Here, people let their fist do the talking.” TwitterTRUE OR FALSE?The above claim comes in the backdrop of the Gujarat MLA’s recent visit to the Begusarai constituency to campaign for the candidature of CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar. International Business Times has found this post to be MISLEADING as this viral picture is from Ahmedabad and was shot in February 2018. The news has also been debunked by the AltNews. The image of the incident was shared by Mevani himself on Twitter in 2018.