Question:
Rudy Giuliani is prepared to do more than just testify at President Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial. The former New York City mayor made clear in comments to reporters on Tuesday night that he’s ready to pull out all the stops to defend his client—and that apparently includes giving “lectures” and doing “demonstrations.” Asked if he would testify at the trial, Giuliani appeared unable to settle on a single, coherent answer.

“I would testify, I would, um, do demonstrations. I’d give lectures, I’d give summations. Or, I’d do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case. Well I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case, but, uh, if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as a racketeering case, which I kind of invented anyway,” Giuliani said at a New Year’s Eve gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

He also dodged a question about whether he had any plans for another trip to Ukraine, an activity that has been at the center of the impeachment proceedings against Trump, which center on allegations he abused his power to pressure Ukraine to do him political favors. Giuliani, accused of hijacking American foreign policy to run a dirt-digging mission in Ukraine that would boost Trump domestically, returned from his latest trip earlier this month claiming to have boatloads of evidence to exonerate Trump and incriminate Trump's political foes, including former vice president Joe Biden and many Democrats.

So far, however, despite Trump claiming Giuliani would be filing a report with the Justice Department on his Ukraine findings and Giuliani saying he planned to brief the Senate on the matter, his findings have apparently not been embraced as the smoking gun against Democrats that he believed they would be. As The Daily Beast reported earlier this week, some Republican senators have actively avoided Giuliani ahead of the impeachment trial over concerns that his Ukraine findings may be mingled with Russian conspiracy theories. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who first called on Giuliani to share his findings, has urged him to “make sure it’s not Russian propaganda.”

What the hell just happened? pic.twitter.com/QmwXTgwcxD — Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) January 1, 2020

Quick hit from Rudy last night at the Mar-a-Lago party…

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani says he’d be willing to testify at his client’s Senate trial, but he would “love” to represent Trump in the proceedings.

“I would testify, I would do demonstrations, I’d give lectures, I’d give summations, or I’d do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case,” Giuliani told reporters as he made his way into a New Year’s Eve celebration at the president’s Florida resort on Tuesday night.

“I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case, but if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as a racketeering case, which I kind of invented anyway,” he said, referring to his pioneering use of racketeering laws to take down New York mob leadership in the 1980s.

“It was 30 years ago, but let’s see if I can still do it,” he said.

The former New York City mayor did not elaborate, but he has said before that Trump did nothing wrong in the dealings with Ukraine that led to his impeachment, and that the real wrongdoers are former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

The impeachment proceedings center on Trump’s efforts to press Ukraine’s president to investigate the Bidens, focusing on Hunter Biden’s work on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was calling for the removal the country’s top prosecutor as part of the Obama administration’s anti-corruption efforts there.

“I’m great at it. It’s what I do best as a lawyer. That’s what I would be good at,” he said. “Oh, I would love it, I could rip — you know, I hate to sound like a ridiculously boastful lawyer, but cross-examining them would be, I don’t know, I could’ve done it when I was a second-year assistant U.S. attorney. They’re a bunch of clowns.”

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2019 was quite the year for the royal family, with some big highs like births and engagements, as well as some lows. No matter how much went on however, that doesn’t mean that 2020 won’t be another year full of some ups and downs for the House of Windsor.

The royal family doesn’t appear to be slowing down when it comes to their plans for the next calendar year. Here are some big things to potentially look forward to.

Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall:

Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson

Rumors are more rampant than ever that Queen Elizabeth is preparing to invoke the Regency Act after her 95th birthday in 2021, which would allow her to basically step back from all her duties as Queen while still retaining her title, and giving Prince Charles the ability to somewhat rule in her place. However, the Queen has made no moves to suggest this is true, though she has been slowly preparing her heir for his eventual role as King, giving him more responsibility and increasing his public profile and presence.

As for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, they aren’t expected to have any large celebrations on their calendar, though their public roles could increase with more engagements as they take on more responsibilities.

Prince William and Kate Middleton:

Photo: AFP/Aamir QURESHI

After a big year which saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge become the sole heads of The Royal Foundation, they are looking ahead to another big year as well, which will include new initiatives and more focus on their charity work.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle:

Photo: Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

After a year that saw them welcome their first child together, there was a lot of turmoil for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who not only started lawsuits against publications that they felt invaded their privacy but also took a six-week break at the end of the year from their royal duties. As for what fans can expect from them in 2020— the couple may once again team up with Prince William and Kate as they all take on more work following Prince Andrew’s stepping back from royal life.

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi:

Photo: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Another royal wedding is set to take place in 2020, as Princess Beatrice officially ties the knot with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Details about the pair’s nuptials have remained under wraps thus far.

The United States is known as "the land of the free," and many Americans are proud of the freedoms our country grants. But even though Americans are given the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," there are some small, surprising things that citizens can't do in the U.S. At both the national and state levels, there are certain laws that are petty or peculiar, especially compared to the rest of the world. Whether it's a food the government has deemed "dangerous" or a weird law on the books because of one wild person, here are 20 wacky things that are surprisingly illegal in the United States. (This story originally appeared on The Active Times.)

Will you be taking the plunge at the Lyme Lunge and braving the icy sea this afternoon?

The Lyme Lunge returns today with thousands of people expected to descend on the town’s sandy beach to charge into the water.

The Rotary Club of Lyme Regis’ annual event includes participants donning fancy dress and following the club’s president into the sea at 1pm.

This year, the Lyme Lunge is raising money for the Dorset County Hospital chemotherapy appeal and Rotary charities.

For more information and updates of the event, search for Rotary Club of Lyme Regis on Facebook.

But just before the dip, there’s time to catch the New Year’s Day duck race.

The duck race will start at Windsor Terrace at 12noon and finish at Jordan Flats.

Ducks cost £1 and will be on sale outside Higher Mill Flats, Windsor Terrace, from 11.15am.

The first duck wins £50, the second wins £25, the third wins £10 and the last duck wins £5.

All proceeds will go to Lyme Regis Christmas Lights.

Chinese handset maker Vivo is set to show off its third-generation Apex concept smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 in Barcelona between February 23 and 24, promoting the concept phone with the slogan "Empower the Next", as per an invite sent to the press.

This makes it the third year that the smartphone player has showcased an Apex concept phone at the event. Vivo's previous Apex concept smartphones have been impressive tech showcases.

The first Apex concept in early 2018 presented a nearly bezel-less phone with the first in-display fingerprint scanner. Last year, the Apex 2019 had a fingerprint scanner that worked from anywhere within the display and a body without any holes.

The invite teasing the launch of the third-generation Vivo Apex concept smartphone was shared by Tech Sina.

Vivo arrived in Barcelona last year with the Apex 2019. It wasn't as impressive as the previous APEX smartphone.

The concept showed how a under-display fingerprint sensor could recognise your finger anywhere on the display. Instead of just in a small spot at the bottom of the display.

Vivo Sends Out MWC 2020 Invites, February 23 Launch Event Confirmed

As we look back at 2019, one thing is for sure—AMD is a force to be reckoned with, thanks in large part to the continued evolution of its Zen CPU architecture . Make no mistake, though, AMD is not resting on its laurels. Now that 2020 is official under way, AMD is promising to "push the envelope yet again" in the high-performance computing sector.

AMD made the bold statement on Twitter, adding that 2020 will be an "incredible year" for the enthusiast sector. No specifics were given, though AMD did also announce it will be hosting a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 6 at 2:00 pm Pacific (5:00 pm Eastern). And it will be livestreamed on AMD's YouTube channel.

At #CES2020 , AMD will push the envelope yet again to make 2020 an incredible year for high-performance computing. Join us for our press conference on Monday, January 6th at 2PM PT on YouTube!

So, what can expect from AMD in 2020? There are a few things on tap. One of those is the launch of AMD's fourth generation Zen 3 CPU architecture . It can be a little confusing if you don't follow the technical details closely, but that's not a typo—Zen 3 is the fourth iteration of Zen. Here's a timeline of Zen...

Zen: 14nm, Ryzen 1000 series, launched March 2017

14nm, Ryzen 1000 series, launched March 2017 Zen+: 12nm, Ryzen 2000 series, launched April 2018

12nm, Ryzen 2000 series, launched April 2018 Zen 2: 7nm, Ryzen 3000 series, launched July 2019

7nm, Ryzen 3000 series, launched July 2019 **Zen 3: 7nm+, Ryzen 4000 series, launching in 2020**

7nm+, Ryzen 4000 series, launching in 2020** **Zen 4: 6nm or 5nm, Ryzen 5000 series, launching in 2021**

The two starred entries have not yet launched, so technically, specs, features, and dates could change. However, they have been part of AMD's roadmap for a long while, and there is no indication that things have gone off track. Just the opposite, AMD has made statements suggesting things are progressing pretty much as planned.

Zen 3 will see AMD make use of a refined 7nm+ manufacturing process. Generally speaking, we can expect faster clockspeeds and better power efficiency, and perhaps even more cores. That latter part is interesting, though, because the current-generation Ryzen 9 3950X is technically a 'mainstream' desktop CPU, with 16 cores and 32 threads.

All that said, don't expect AMD to actually launch Zen 3 at CES. Instead, there is a good chance it at least mentions the upcoming architecture, if for no other reason than to say nothing has changed with regards to its 2020 time frame.

AMD's 64-Core/128-Thread Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Could See A Debut At CES

AMD mentions high-performance computing in its CES announcement. To us, that is a not-so-subtle hint that it will finally launch the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X , a high-end desktop (HEDT) processor with a staggering 64 cores, 128 threads, and 288MB of cache (and 280W TDP). AMD might also launch its Threadripper 3980X part with 48 cores and 96 threads.

We are also expecting AMD to introduce new mobile and desktop APUs, and specifically, its Ryzen 4000 "Renoir" lineup . For whatever reason, AMD has kept its APUs slightly behind the curve, as they compare to its regular desktop processors. That's to say, at the present moment AMD's latest-generation APUs are still based on Zen+, not Zen 2.

Beyond all that, AMD might talk about the next version of Navi. We already know that a custom Navi part will power both Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X at the end of the year, both with hardware-level support for real-time ray tracing. On the PC side, however, Navi 20 could bring parity with NVIDIA's fastest graphics cards, though we will have to wait and see.

Before that comes to pass, however, AMD will almost certainly announce another lower end Navi part, and specifically the Radeon RX 5600 XT. We have see a bunch of leaks pointing to this unannounced part, including a few 3DMark entries that indicated it will perform roughly on par with a Radeon RX Vega 56. The most telling leak came from ASRock , which briefly posted a product page seemingly confirming the Radeon RX 5600 XT will sport 2,304 stream processors and 6GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus.

Whatever ends up getting announced at CES, 2020 figures to be a busy year in tech.

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Question: LUDHIANA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer — who is the additional director general (ADG) of the zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Ludhiana — in a Rs 3-crore bribery case.Prior to ADG Chandar Shekhar’s arrest, CBI nabbed two businessmen — Rajesh Dhanda of Ludhiana and Anup Joshi of Delhi — on Tuesday afternoon from a five-star hotel in Delhi with Rs 25-lakh cash, which they had allegedly accepted on behalf of the DRI officer. Dhanda is a prominent name in the city’s textile circle and has a huge business interest in Dubai, while Joshi is a customs clearing agent.A statement issued by the CBI said, “The CBI arrested a DRI, Ludhiana, ADG and two private persons, including a friend of the public servant, in an alleged bribery case of Rs 25 lakh. A case was registered against the accused on a complaint, in which it was alleged that in June 2019, Ludhiana DRI had conducted a search at a private clearing agency, which provides services to various exporters. In this search, some documents pertaining to an exporter were also seized. The complainant, a resident of Delhi, submitted a complaint to the CBI that a clearing house agent and a close friend of the Ludhiana ADG demanded Rs 3 crore on behalf of the public servant for ensuring that he would not be implicated by DRI regarding recovery of his documents. CBI caught both private persons while demanding and accepting Rs 25 lakh from the complainant. During investigation, the public servant was also arrested. Searches are being conducted on the premises, including residence and offices of the accused located at Delhi, Noida and Ludhiana. The accused will be produced before the competent court. Further investigation is continuing.”A clearing agency gets import and export shipments cleared from different departments.It was only in the afternoon that the agency sources confirmed the arrest of the ADG, as earlier the CBI officials were maintaining that he was under detention. On Wednesday morning, different teams of the CBI visited Ludhiana along with the arrested officer and reached the office of DRI in Ghumar Mandi. Later, they went to the residence of the ADG at Marvel Homes on Ferozepur Road.The ADG is among the most powerful postings as he has jurisdiction over Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. ADG Chander Shekhar has had an illustrious career and was involved in big anti-narcotics operations. In November last, he grabbed national limelight when in two separate operations in Kashmir Valley, the DRI, in a joint operation with Army and other agencies, had seized heroin worth Rs 120 crore along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the border fence.

The CBI on Wednesday arrested an Additional Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Chander Shekhar and a middleman in connection with Rs 25 lakh bribery case, officials said.

The searches are going on in New Delhi, Noida and Ludhiana, they said.

According to the DRI web site, Chander Shekhar is posted as ADG, Ludhiana.

The agency had arrested the middleman while he was allegedly receiving the bribe on behalf of the officer, they said.

During the questioning, the middleman told the sleuths that the bribe was allegedly for the officer, they said.

The agency suspects it to be a part payment of a huge bribe which was discussed between the two, they said.

Also read: Maruti Suzuki car sales grow 2.4% in December; sells 133,296 units

Also read: Courts allow banks to utilise movable assets of Vijay Mallya to clear debt

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From showrunner/executive producer Marja-Lewis Ryan, the Showtime series The L Word: Generation Q, the sequel to the groundbreaking series that debuted in 2004, continues to follow the lives of Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals), Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Heiley) and Shane McCutcheon (Katherine Moennig), as they experience love and heartbreak in Los Angeles. And picking back up with them, 10 years later, means a chance to get to know new characters, including Dani Nùñez (Arienne Mandi), Micah Lee (Leo Sheng), Finley (Jacqueline Toboni), Sophie Suarez (Rosanny Zayas) and Gigi (Sepideh Moafi), all of whom have their own trials and tribulations on their roads of self-discovery.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, creator/writer Marja-Lewis Ryan talked about how this continuation of The L Word evolved with her as the showrunner, what it’s like to go from fan of the series to running it, deciding what to keep and what to reinvent with the show, how she approached making sure that people feel represented, both on screen and behind the scenes, what the original cast wanted for their characters now that 10 years have passed, weaving the new characters into the story, exposing viewers to things they don’t typically get to see on TV, and how there’s still so much more story left to tell.

Collider: How did you end up getting this job, as the showrunner of The L Word: Generation Q? Did you go in and pitch your vision of what the series could be?

MARJA-LEWIS RYAN: Yeah, so Ilene [Chaiken], Jennifer [Beals], Kate [Moennig] and Leisha [Hailey] wanted to bring this show back. Ilene had an overall deal over at Fox, so she wasn’t available, and they were looking for somebody to come in with a new take on what the show could be. I think they went out to a few writers, but Ilene and I had met, the year before, working on a movie. We were both hired to write the adaptation of Lean In, and she and I hit it off. A couple months later, her show, The Handmaid’s Tale came on the air, and I loved it. I saw her name in it, and I sent her an email and I was just like, “I love your show. Congratulations!” She wrote back and said, “Hi, I was just thinking of you. Do you want to come and pitch on The L Word?” And I was like, “What?!” I thought she was going to invite me to come shadow on The Handmaid’s Tale. I was like, “Oh, sure! Yeah, no problem.” I was just looking for a set visit. So, I met with Leisha, Kate and Jennifer, and I got to hear about where they wanted their characters to be and things that they never wanted to do again. And then, I got to go pitch the network, all of these new characters and where I thought these three returning character might be, 10 years later. It wasn’t really that terrifying. I just thought it was a fucking blast. I’m not, I don’t know if I really thought I’d get the job. It didn’t really feel like a job. It felt like a fun assignment. It was surreal as hell. I remember getting the call that I got the job. I was living in Brooklyn with my wife and I just collapsed on the kitchen floor. I was sobbing, partially ‘cause I had to move back to L.A., but also because I was excited that I had the job.

How strange does it feel, to go from having been a fan of the show and watching the show when it was on, to then walking onto the set of the show and having everyone look at you for all of the answers to everything, as the showrunner?

RYAN: It was bananas. I have these moments of feeling like I’m living in a dream. The first time I really felt it was, when we were shooting the pilot, that scene with [Jennifer, Kate and Leisha] in it was the first time they’d shared a frame, in 10 years. I turned to the director, who’s a 39-year-old lesbian that was also a fan of the show, and I was like, “Can you believe this is what we’re up to today?” And she was like, “No, I cannot.” So, there were definitely those moments. With each director, especially the directors who really grew up watching the show, they all had moments of, “Can you fucking believe this is what we’re doing today? It’s just insane!” There are definitely moments of that, but the job is pretty all consuming, so those moments are really just moments. And then, I have to go approve a costume. It’s all in a moment that I can feel those feelings. Other than that, I’m just there to do my job.

This show is interesting because you have the original characters who are still a version of what they were before, plus you have all these new characters that you get to play with. Is it fun to get to weave all that together, and to have it feel like the show that you knew, but also have it be this new thing?

RYAN: Yeah, it was a blast. The way that I went about determining what to keep and what to re-invent was about what I loved about the show. That’s how I approached everything. What I loved about the original show were the friendships. Just watching the show when I was 18, it gave me hope that, one day, I would have my own lesbian click, so I tried to keep that part of the show. I wanted to keep the part that makes queer feel, “I love this! They’re just like us,” or “I wanna be just like them.” We’re walking that line of reality and aspiration. And then, the main thing that I wanted to improve on was who was represented and whose stories we were telling. Ilene has said that the original show really was about white lesbians, so the idea of being able to expand who is seeing themselves in this show, is just such a fucking pleasure.

It seems like it would be really cool to be able to work on something that you were a fan of, but then also make those changes that people would want to see because they’re changes that you want to see.

RYAN: Yeah, exactly. I know a lot of our peers were scared about it coming back and wondered whether I was gonna break it. But, I am a fan first. I’m not coming to it, as a hater of the show. I’m coming to it like, “These are the things that I watched it for, so I hope that we were all watching for the same reasons.” I felt like I knew who Shane, Bette and Alice were. When I was 18, I knew who Ilene Chaiken was. She was very front and center, in terms of the PR for the show, and that changed my life. The idea that I could write stories about my gay self and my gay friends had not occurred to me, until this show came on the air. So, the dream is that a few more people, who don’t look exactly like me and Ilene, can see themselves, both in front of the camera and behind it. That was a huge thing that I was working on, too, just making sure that whoever is in front of the camera is also represented behind it. We have this Noah’s arc style to the writers’ rooms, where we have two of everybody, so that no one person was responsible for telling the stories of their people, and I think it worked out pretty well. I hope that fans can see that. It’s not me telling their stories. It’s somebody who looks more like them, telling their stories.

You hear a lot of talk about how hard it is to diversify a writers’ room, or your line-up of directors, or your department heads because it’s just too hard to find the people to fill those positions. But then, there’s a show like this, where you made that work.

RYAN: In terms of being able to find people, I’ve heard that, too. I think it’s two things. One is drawing a line in the sand and being like, “No, I will not have an all white producing team. I just will not. So, go find me somebody. Everybody’s job is to go find me somebody.” And you do find them. People are like, “But I don’t know anybody.” Just because you don’t know anybody, doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. It just means that you don’t know them, so who do you need to call? When I was staffing this room, I emailed Lena Waithe, Tanya Saracho and Abbi Jacobson. I emailed people who I know have been doing this, and who I know have been mentoring people and who have friends that don’t look like me. Just do your job and make those calls. Those people will always email me back, and they will always give me people that I’m looking for, and I do the same for the straight white bros who email me and say, “We’re staffing this room and we need a lesbian. Who do you have?” I have people. Just email me. We all have people. So, it was really a real pleasure to find these people and let them rise. And it isn’t just department heads. Once you make a space like this, you can have a straight white guy who’s your gaffer, and he’ll go out of his way to find women in the electrical department, and find a trans grip. He knew what we were up to. All of us get to play, and feel seen and heard. It was really cool.

You’ve talked about how you were inspired by Ilene Chaiken. What’s it like to do something that she created, and to have her to turn to with questions, if you need to, while also finding your own groove with it?

RYAN: I definitely wanted her opinion and her feedback, on lots of things. There were story elements and things that I wanted to do with her former characters, that I really wanted her to sign off on. It’s very funny ‘cause I don’t think a lot of people will have my experience, where they see somebody doing a job and they’re like, “Oh, I can do that, too,” and then they literally have their job. I don’t think that’s normally how it goes down. That’s certainly not what I was imagining would happen to me. But, she’s always there for me. It’s pretty ego-less to be able to pass the torch to somebody, when it is something that she made, but that’s the dream. In 10 years, some 30-year-old punk will tell me that I did it wrong, and I’ll get to let her go do it, too. That’s what we’re all here for. It’s pretty exciting that she’s as involved as she is, but also isn’t in the writers’ room.

What have been the biggest challenges in making this world feel like the world that fans of the original series loved, while also making this feel like a new thing for the new viewers who will never have seen an episode of the original series?

RYAN: The way that I went about it was that this is these three characters, 10 years later. You’re not talking about things that happened 10 years ago, every day. Things come up sometimes and people come up sometimes, but they’re just like us. I don’t talk about the woman that I was dating, 10 years ago. Well, I do ‘cause I actually married her, so that’s a bad example. But mostly, I’m not talking about myself, from 10 years ago. That was a very long time ago. So, for me, what was fun finding the space to talk about who killed Jenny in Episode 2, and just being able to have little moments like that for fans, is such a fucking pleasure. One thing that we talk about in the writers’ room is a trash pass, or a garbage pass, which is to make sure that there’s enough of that soapy feeling, so that, in a group watch scenario, people are screaming at the screen. That’s the dream to me. That’s partially what the show was. It was time for all of us to just yell. We’re here to write this show for us. It’s for us, and by us, which is very exciting. There’s really nothing better than listening to a room full of queers scream. That’s fun.

Would you say that, in the last ten years, Bette, Alice and Shane have actually gotten their lives together as much as they seem to have, or is it just that they think they have?

RYAN: Their socio-economic status has changed, and that’s about it. We all suffer from the same problems we always have. I remember meeting with Leisha, very early on, and she was like, “I want Alice to be successful. I want to see Alice successful.” And I was like, “Totally.” I wanna see all of them as successful because that’s part of the dream. There are so many shows and so many times where we are the victims of our own stories, and that’s not what this show ever was. This has always been the sunniest version of the queer experience. No matter what went wrong in their lives, they always had other. Now, they have each other in really nice houses, and I don’t make any apologies for that. I think it’s super fun to watch.

I love how the original cast each has some connection to a member of your new cast, with Bette and Dani, Shane and Finley, and Alice and Sophie, and that it feels like they’re interacting with a version of themselves, at that age. Was that something that was intentional? Did you want to use those relationships to show the similarities and differences between the characters?

RYAN: Yeah, I was definitely interested in putting people in front of them like that. When I think about who my worst nightmare is, it’s basically me. I am my own worst nightmare. If you put two of me in a room, I don’t think we’d both make it out. I do feel that way about most people. When we see ourselves in other people, that’s the thing we hate most. So, that’s very intentional. It’s also fun to watch how they come apart, and how they are very distinct and different people, and I think we do accomplish that, over time. I really just wanted to put conflict in front of people. I love Shane and Finley. I could watch that sitcom. It’s very joyful.

I also really love how we get to see things on this show that you don’t normally see on TV, even if it’s just seeing a woman with hairy armpits. Did you also think about those visuals?

RYAN: Absolutely! There are a couple of things that I’m up The whole show is really a love letter to my 16-year-old self. With the opening scene, some people think it’s very gratuitous, and I do not feel that way about that scene. For me, that scene is about chipping away at shame and about providing an example of what your partner should do when you get your period. If I had known that at 16, I would have avoided many years of hardship. We have a lot of shame and body issues and body shaming, inside our community, but also with women, in general. I think straight women can relate to that, too. And the idea that Dani reacts the way she does, as a guideline for what all partners should do, is such a joy to put on television for me, and I just wish I had known that. And I never asked Jacqueline Toboni to grow her armpit hair. That’s just what she looks like. I can’t take a ton of credit for that, but I did cast her, partially because she means a lot to our community. She is a new kind of queer actor. I’ve worked with her for years. This is our third project together. We did a play together, last year. I just love her. She’s very special. On screen and off, she’s a very important person, in our community. I always tell her that armpit hair is doing a lot for us, as a group. She’s great. She’s really special. So, of course, I thought about that. And I thought about Jose and Micah, too. What they look like matters. The fact that a lot of Twitter was like, “Those boys are cute,” was the point. It’s just that simple. That was our whole statement. That gentle change, that he’s not some outcast character in the show and that they’re just really cute boys is very much by design. I’m excited that people have responded to it, the way that I had hoped they would.

This season is only eight episodes. Do you feel like there’s still a lot of story to tell with these characters? Have you thought about what a second season and beyond would look like?

RYAN: Oh, my god, there’s so much more. Our cast is fucking huge. It’s gigantic. I love Gigi. I wanna go home with her, and see where she lives and what her family is like. I wanna know what she’s up to. I love her, and we don’t get to see enough of her. We don’t get to see enough of any of them, really. I hope that we get another season and that I can dive more into where they are in their lives and what their lives are like. I also think that we’re missing some people. Not just as a diversity representation that’s checking boxes, but I am dying to see a hot Butch woman on this show. I cannot wait. That’s a whole reason to have a second season.

How much have you thought about who these characters are and where they could go? Do you know what all of these characters would be doing, if you get more seasons?

RYAN: No, I definitely don’t think like that. The way that I write, and the way that I approach story, is all character first. I step into their shoes and walk around in them for awhile. That’s how story is born, for me. I also think that a lot of the younger characters are me, at various stages of my life, so with some of them, I have a better idea of their trajectory because it’s closer to mine. Once you see Episode 8, there are some real questions that are asked that people are gonna want the answers to, in the next season. So, I hope that I get another season, and that I’m around to tell those stories.

The L Word: Generation Q airs on Sunday nights on Showtime.

The world saw a different side of Pope Francis on New Year’s Eve after the pontiff tore himself free from a woman who had grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her.

A woman seeking the Pope’s blessing on New Year’s Eve instead ended up enraging the pontiff after grabbing his arm to get his attention. A video of the altercation shows Francis walking through Vatican City as he greeted pilgrims. After reaching out to touch a child, a nearby woman seized his hand, jerking the religious leader around – a yank that appeared to cause him pain.

Pope Francis repeatedly SLAPS woman’s hand after she YANKS him toward herDETAILS: https://t.co/V6taO9Jc9vpic.twitter.com/Iw7KrEdyuz — RT (@RT_com) 1 января 2020 г.

After slapping her hand several times, the Pope freed himself of her grip. The usually serene Francis scowled as he walked away.

According to reports, the Pope later acknowledged that he had “lost patience” with the admiring pilgrim.

Francis has a history of repelling unwanted contact. In March, he was criticized for refusing to allow members of the faithful to kiss his papal ring during a visit to an Italian shrine.

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BEIJING — China’s central bank said on Wednesday it was cutting the amount of cash that all banks must hold as reserves, releasing around 800 billion yuan ($114.91 billion) in funds to shore up the slowing economy.

The People’s Bank of China(PBOC) said on its website it will cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points, effective Jan. 6. The move would bring the level for big banks down to 12.5%.

The PBOC has now cut RRR eight times since early 2018 to free up more funds for banks to lend as economic growth slows to the weakest pace in nearly 30 years.

Many investors had expected Beijing to announce more support measures soon. While recent data has shown signs of improvement, and Beijing and Washington have agreed to de-escalate their long trade war, analysts are unsure if either will prove sustainable and forecast growth will cool further this year.

“The RRR cut will help boost investor confidence and support the economy, which is gradually steadying,” said Wen Bin, an economist at Minsheng Bank in Beijing, who also expects another cut in China’s new loan prime rate (LPR) this month.

Premier Li Keqiang raised expectations of an imminent RRR cut in a speech in late December, saying authorities were considering more measures to lower financing costs for smaller companies, including broad-based and “targeted” RRR reductions aimed at helping more vulnerable parts of the economy.

Freeing up more liquidity now would also reduce the risks of a credit crunch ahead of the long Lunar New Year holidays later this month, when demand for cash surges. Record debt defaults and problems at some smaller banks have already added to strains on China’s financial system.

The PBOC said it expects total liquidity in the banking system to remain stable ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Of the latest funds released, small and medium banks would receive roughly 120 billion yuan, the central bank said, stressing that it should be used to fund small, local businesses.

The PBOC said lower reserve requirements will reduce banks’ annual funding costs by 15 billion yuan, which could reduce pressure on their profit margins from recent interest rate reforms. Last week, it said existing floating-rate loans will be switched to the new benchmark rate starting from Jan. 1 as part of a broader effort to lower financing costs.

Analysts at Nomura had forecast the PBOC would deliver a system-wide 50 bps cut in the RRR before the holidays, together with an added reduction for some smaller banks.

Analysts say the U.S-China Phase one trade deal, expected to be signed this month, will relieve only some of the pressure weighing on the Chinese economy, which has also been weighed down by sluggish domestic and global demand, slowing investment and weakening business confidence.

China plans to set a lower economic growth target of around 6% in 2020, relying on increased state infrastructure spending to ward off a sharper slowdown, policy sources said. Growth has cooled from 6.8% in 2017 to 6% in the third quarter of 2019, the slowest since the early 1990s.

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Smaller, private firms have been particularly hard hit as regulators clamped down on riskier types of financing and debt.

Despite Beijing’s urging, commercial banks have been reluctant to lend to such firms as they are considered bigger credit risks than state-owned firms.

In recent months, China has also started to make modest cuts in major policy lending rates to lower corporate financing costs, with more expected in the new year.

Tang Jianwei, a senior economist at Bank of Communications in Shanghai, expects two to three RRR cuts this year and a further 25-30 bps reduction in the loan prime rate.

But officials have repeatedly pledged not to resort to “flood-like” stimulus like that in past economic downturns, which left a mountain of debt and stoked fears of property market bubbles. ($1 = 6.9617 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Cate Cadell; Additional reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill)

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday declared that its members in the Imo House of Assembly who recently announced their defection to the All Progressive Congress (APC) have lost their seats.

Addressing a press conference at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, its national spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said their defection to the ruling party does not satisfy the provisions of the constitution.

While noting that there was no division in the PDP or a merger with another political group, he said their exit from the party has created vacancies in their constituencies.

The main opposition party, therefore, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to begin a process of conducting a fresh election to elect new representatives for the constituencies.

He said where the electoral body fails to do the needful, the party would challenge the action in court.

Details later.

Fort Lewis College is updating about a dozen panels at the Clock Tower in the center of campus to better recognize the past, "in a way that's fully inclusive of our Native American community on campus and the families directly affected by Indian boarding schools."

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2 injured when snowmobile crashes into tree in New Hampshire

New Hampshire officials say they used a tracked vehicle to rescue a woman and teenage passenger after their rented snowmobile crashed into a tree on New Year's Eve.Officials say the operator, who is from Puerto Rico, suffered serious injuries that were not life threatening in the crash in the town of Crawford's Purchase.A 15-year-old passenger also suffered injuries.The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says both were wearing helmets and that inexperience is considered to be the primary factor in the crash.

New Hampshire officials say they used a tracked vehicle to rescue a woman and teenage passenger after their rented snowmobile crashed into a tree on New Year's Eve.

Officials say the operator, who is from Puerto Rico, suffered serious injuries that were not life threatening in the crash in the town of Crawford's Purchase.

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A 15-year-old passenger also suffered injuries.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says both were wearing helmets and that inexperience is considered to be the primary factor in the crash.

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Cantwell Continues to Fight the Rising Tide of Privacy Threats Impacting Consumers

Cantwell: Cybersecurity adversaries become more sophisticated and more organized day by day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the top Democrat on the committee, continued her fight for consumers as Congress considers federal data privacy legislation.

“When the dust settles after a data breach or a misuse of data, consumers are the ones who are left harmed or disillusioned,” said Cantwell.

Cantwell highlighted the onslaught of data breaches consumers have faced, including a recent data breach that left unprotected the addresses, full names, dates of birth, income, and marital status of more than 80 million US households.

“Consumers continue to be bombarded by threats to their privacy. Cybersecurity adversaries become more sophisticated and more organized day by day, and we really need to understand privacy on a continuum of data security. We need to take a more proactive approach to cybersecurity and make sure that we are continuing to protect consumers.”

Some reports have estimated that more than 1,200 data breaches exposed over 446.5 million records in the United States in 2018. Worldwide, data breaches compromised more than 4.5 billion data records in the first half of 2018 alone. And this year, the largest ever single public data breach by volume was discovered – it exposed more than 772 million unique emails and more than 21 million unique passwords.

In light of these ever-increasing cyber threats, transparency, consent and plain-language notices are simply not enough, Cantwell said in her remarks, while pushing for a greater focus on protection of people’s personal data.

“While the benefits of the online world are everywhere…so must be protections of personal information that is more than just a commodity. We need to make sure that the culture of monetizing our personal data at every twist and turn is countered with the protection of people’s personal data.”

At the first Commerce Committee hearing on privacy in the 116th Congress, Cantwell criticized efforts to pre-empt laws from states like California, which has adopted its own privacy protections, in any federal legislation that Congress may consider.

Senator Cantwell has long advocated for more stringent protections for the privacy of American consumers, including when she questioned the CEO of Equifax on data breaches, when she questioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and when she urged President Trump to veto a resolution passed by Congress to undo consumer privacy regulations adopted by the FCC.

Here is VIDEO and AUDIO from Senator Cantwell’s opening statement at today’s hearing.

Here is VIDEO and AUDIO from Senator Cantwell’s Q&A with the witnesses at the hearing.

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Mumbai: Actress and Bigg Boss 12 contestant Nehha Pendse, who is soon going get hitched with her fiancé Shardul Bayas, looked more loved-up than ever on New Year’s eve as she shared a passionate kiss with him.

Nehha Tuesday took to Instagram and posted a picture in which she is seen kissing Shardul.

“Because it’s the last single girl kiss — Carrie Bradshaw,” she captioned the post. Nehha sealed the year’s last kiss with husband-to-be Shardul in short blue dress.

The two will tie the knot with her businessman beau Shardul January 5. Recently, Nehha’s family performed a grahmukh puja. She also shared the pictures from the ceremony on Instagram.

Reportedly, the couple might fly to Japan in April for their delayed honeymoon.

IANS

SIPTU have said members of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) are planning a national mobilising campaign to win respect and recognition for all ambulance professionals this year.

SIPTU Health Division Organiser Paul Bell, said: “Our members, across all grades in the NAS, are determined to secure greater recognition from the health employers including, if necessary, by taking a ballot for industrial action early in the new year.

“Our members are no longer “van” drivers. They have over a relatively short period of time developed into a highly skilled workforce with the ability to make key clinical decisions and to administer lifesaving medications to patients suffering trauma, cardiac arrest or stroke.

That deserves to be recognised.

In 2019, SIPTU representatives participated in a review of the skillsets of ambulance professionals with a focus on emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The findings of the review are due to be published early this year.

“It may shock the wider medical community, including the Minister for Health, Simon Harris and indeed the general public, that ambulance professionals are not regulated unlike nurses, midwives, radiographers, radiation therapists and physiotherapists yet they are responsible for administering up to 45 lifesaving drugs and making clinical decisions and in many cases are the first point of contact for patients.

“The regulation of ambulance professionals must be treated as a priority.”

He added: “Our members rightly feel that their time for recognition and respect is now and that the Government needs to engage on these issues and give them confidence that the future structure, viability and vision of our National Ambulance Service works for the many, not the few.”

A woman was shot and killed in a Northeast Philadelphia home on New Year's Eve, bringing the number of murders in the city to 356 for 2019 -- the deadliest year in more than a decade.

The shooting happened about 10:30 p.m. in the 5600 block of Frontenac St. in the Summerdale section. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

A man was also found shot in the home and is in critical condition at Einstein Hospital. It was not immediately clear who was the shooter.

The violence followed two other shooting deaths Tuesday. Police say one man was fatally shot near Temple University Hospital and another in the Hunting Park section.

Police have tallied 356 slayings this year, three more than 2018. The count had fallen to about 250 to 275 homicides annually from 2013 to 2016.

Police say they've made arrests this year in just over half the homicide cases.

Separately, they say more than 1,450 people were shot in the city this year.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced Monday that he'd selected Police Chief Danielle Outlaw of Portland, Oregon, to lead the 6,500-member force.

Outlaw says she's prepared for the challenge and calls gun violence a top priority.

There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence. Further information can be found here.

Many people make New Year’s resolutions to make big changes in their lives. A lot of these promises are related to health – particularly physical health . It’s wonderful to try to eat healthier, work out more and get stronger, but we often neglect our mental health.

The truth is, many of us have trouble changing our physical health due to poor mental health. Don’t let a barrier in your head keep you from achieving your health goals in 2020. A lot of people will tell you that it’s easy for the first month or so but then life gets in the way and they revert to their old ways. The best way to stay on track is to sort out the mental stuff first, so that you can focus on the physical.

One way to improve your mental health is through hypnotherapy . Many of our poor health choices are the result of bad habits we can’t seem to break. Through hypnosis, you can replace those deeply imbedded beliefs you have regarding diet and exercise with more positive and health-conscious thoughts. A hypnotherapist can bypass the conscious mind and help you flip the switch on old habits. Once you’re mentally ready, you’ll find it easier to stick to your goals.

Start off the year right by treating yourself to some sessions at Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers’ Hamilton location. Don’t listen to the naysayers who tell you that you cannot achieve your goals for 2020. Everyone can use a little help getting started, so why not try hypnosis to increase your odds of success?

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Taiwan’s Air Force General Shen Yi-ming (AP Photo)

Taiwan’s top military official was among three people missing on Thursday after a helicopter made an emergency landing in a mountainous northern area near the capital Taipei, the defence ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said it had sent a team to rescue the 13 people aboard the Black Hawk helicopter, who included Taiwan’s chief of general staff, Air Force General Shen Yi-ming, and several survivors had been found.

“Some crew are still trapped inside, while some have come out,” a military spokesman told a news conference broadcast live on television, although further details would not be available until troops reached the area of the crash.

The helicopter made the emergency landing in New Taipei City after aviation authorities lost contact with it at 8:22 a.m., the ministry said.

The incident comes a week before democratic Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 11.

President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking re-election, cancelled election campaign activities scheduled for Thursday, and urged authorities to make every effort for the rescue.

The United States, which has no diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer and main arms supplier, sold it 60 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in 2010.

It was not immediately clear whether the helicopter involved in Thursday’s incident was one of these.

China, which claims Taiwan as its territory to be brought under Beijing’s control by force if necessary, regularly calls the island the most sensitive issue in its ties with the United States.

Taiwan says it is an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.

Air Force General Shen Yi-ming. (Source: Wikiepedia) Air Force General Shen Yi-ming. (Source: Wikiepedia)

Taiwan’s top military official is missing after a helicopter made an emergency landing in northern Taiwan, the island’s defence ministry said on Thursday.

The defence ministry said a rescue mission was underway for the 13 people on board the black hawk helicopter, which includes the Air Force General Shen Yi-ming, the island’s chief of the general staff.

There people were still missing, including Shen, while several people were found alive, the ministry said, adding that a team has been dispatched for the rescue mission.

The crash came a week before a key election on Jan. 11, when the democratic island is set to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App

A Maine man won $1 million on live television last night, becoming Powerball’s first millionaire of the decade.

Blaine Marston of Passadumkeag will take home $710,000 after taxes, according to the Maine Lottery. Marston was one of more than 300 Powerball winners who won a trip to New York City on New Year’s Eve.

“I can’t even believe it, this is unreal,” Marston said in a Maine Lottery press release. “Like I’m dreaming!”

Marston was announced as one of five finalists during the beginning of ABC’s New Year’s Eve special. Just after midnight, the final drawing was done live during “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, and Marston came out as the winner.

There were 15 other Powerball winners from Maine who travelled to New York City on New Year’s Eve for a chance to win the special drawing.

To qualify for the trip, a player had to enter a Powerball ticket worth $6 or more that was purchased between Aug. 11 and Sept. 14.

This was the first New Year’s Eve that Powerball has held its “First Millionaire of the Year” drawing.

Two high school friends reconnect after one loses his job and get together to create the best, coolest, most trending new app to help shy people connect. Along the way, they learn a lot about themselves, each other, and life.

Written and directed by Eli Batalion, Appiness is a comedy that is rooted in something a lot of millennials (and others) will connect with, that need to find what it is you really want to do in life while trying to survive and make a living. It’s an apt film for the current state of young adult life, showing that some are forced to go back to their parents and some just don’t know what to do with themselves anymore. Here there are also a lot of other easily identifiable current trends and obvious things in here from the app building to the Ted Talk-like things, the social media, the programmers Olympics to the quirky fashion, the nerdy talk, the introverts being pushed around. It’s a lot of clichés and it does some good with them and goes in some of the obvious directions with others. The stories crams as many bits and pieces of what it’s like to live within a phone and social media obsessed world. It works for most of the film, but the story does feel a bit thin and predictable at times, something that’s too bad considering the feel of the film as a whole works pretty well for it. The moods established are fitting to the different parts of the film, even the in-your-face ones. The film has a story that works overall, but doesn’t feel particularly original.

The cast here is decent in how they each handle their parts, none are grating, but none really come up on top of the pile. It feels a bit middle of the road while being entirely ok. There’s plenty talent here but it all feels like it’s just there, like everyone is playing some kind of hipster as they expect them to be. They all work well together, but it feels like something is missing, with most of them looking like they are doing some version of people, people that don’t feel 100% real. Which is too bad considering they all seem to have talent, it’s just not feeling like it’s all directed in the right way maybe. Or perhaps, it’s the type of characters they had, all feeling like that one co-worker you don’t really like, that college buddy you’re glad is gone, or that barista with the sense of humor that doesn’t quite click. The look of the film works with the story and feel of things, it adds to the quirkiness and the oddity of the story. It kind of works for it and kind of just adds to the things that may work against it for some.

Appiness is a film that will either work or not at all for each viewer with everything feeling a bit extra quirky, a bit extra hipster. The comedy works at times and some of the characters are just a bit less like the others, which helps the film move along. Something about it just didn’t work for this viewer while still not being bored or too annoyed, it was not super engaging or entertaining.

New Delhi [India], Jan 1 (ANI): BJP leader Gopal Krishna Agarwal on Wednesday said that Kerala Assembly's passing of a resolution seeking withdrawal of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is wrong and unconstitutional and it will give rise to anarchy.

"This is absolutely wrong and unconstitutional. The parliament has legally passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill and made it into an act after presidential assent. After that, a state assembly cannot pass a resolution on the act. It will give rise to anarchy. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should take care that the constitution is the supreme law," Agarwal told ANI.Earlier yesterday, after the Kerala Assembly passed the resolution regarding CAA, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that no state legislature has the power to pass any law with regard to citizenship."Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens are entry 17 on the Union list. Therefore, it is only the Parliament that has the power to pass any law with regards to citizenship, not any Assembly, including Kerala," Prasad had said at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.Taking a jibe at Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Prasad said, "The constitution has a mandate -- Parliament - List 1, State Assemblies - List 2. I would again urge the Chief Minister to kindly have better legal advice."The Kerala Assembly on Tuesday had passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the CAA.Before the resolution was passed against the Act, Vijayan, in a special Assembly session, targeted the RSS and said that citizenship law is part of an agenda."The CAA is part of an agenda. Muslims are being considered as internal enemies by RSS, that is controlling the ruling dispensation at the Centre," the Chief Minister alleged. (ANI)

Last year, politics in Toronto were marked by tension.

There were threats of provincial cuts, tremendous uncertainty around future transit plans, and big questions about how to pay for the kind of big-picture, city-building projects that Toronto so desperately needs.

With the start of a new year here, many of these issues linger. And as the city enters a brave new decade, council is bracing for more challenges.

Housing plan rolling out

Housing affordability has long been a hot topic in Toronto, and that shows no signs of changing in 2020.

This year marks the start of the city's new decade-long, $23.4-billion housing plan that involves approving 40,000 new affordable rental homes, including 18,000 new supportive units for vulnerable residents. An update on proposals gathered for the Housing Now program, which aims to use 11 city-owned sites for affordable development, is also expected early this year.

But getting shovels in the ground won't happen overnight. While the city is chipping in $8.5 billion, more cash is needed.

"I will be working hard with the other orders of government to ensure the entire plan is fully funded," Mayor John Tory has said.

One newly-confirmed housing boost coming is a federal-provincial partnership providing rent subsidies to low-income and marginalized residents including renters in Toronto.

Transit, road safety momentum

On the transit file, construction on the Eglinton Crosstown will be winding down, with the line set to open in 2021. Coun. Josh Matlow says that means it's time to zero-in on streetscape improvements and what the stretch will look like after years of upheaval.

He also hopes council pushes the province for more details on Premier Doug Ford's priority projects, including the Ontario Line, since there are many outstanding questions about the route, feasibility and station locations.

Getting around the city will change in a more concrete way next year as Vision Zero road safety improvements planned by council — including speed limit reductions on streets across the city — become more widespread.

There's also a council-backed bike lane pilot project on Danforth Avenue, between Broadview and Victoria Park avenues, that's expected to start in 2020.

"We need to move it forward," said Coun. Brad Bradford, who stressed that the project involves making the stretch safer for all road users.

New visions for neighbourhoods

Transformative neighbourhood proposals could be a key theme for 2020.

Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam said one iconic downtown roadway in particular — Yonge Street — could be transformed with a safety focus, with recommendations set to come to council next summer.

"We have an opportunity to rethink, re-imagine, and ultimately redesign and reconstruct Yonge Street for the next 100 years," Wong-Tam said, "and that includes opportunities to widen the sidewalk to put pedestrian priority emphasis on this downtown portion."

There will also be updates on the city's ambitious Rail Deck Park concept early in the new year, and more consultations are expected for Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs proposal which, if approved by council this spring, could transform a nearly five-hectare site on the waterfront into a so-called "smart city."

Brace for bigger bills

With so many projects in the works, money will yet again be a central issue this year.

"The question was left, well, how do you pay for it?" Tory recently told CBC Toronto.

While Tory aims to keep property taxes tied to the rate of inflation, his plan to hike a special city building levy did get the green light from council this year.

That means homeowners will see an extra 1 per cent on their property tax bill in 2020, costing the average household an additional $45 annually. Increases will continue until 2025, all meant to raise billions to pay for transit and housing.

And that's not the only area where residents could be paying more, with rates for garbage collection expected to rise, thanks to rebate phase-outs.

Representative image

BENGALURU: A Delhi-based man has lodged a complaint with Bengaluru police stating that gold ornaments worth Rs 3 lakh have gone missing from his room in a star hotel on Kumara Krupa Road. The incident is said to have occurred on December 28 when Kushagra Sharma checked into the hotel along with his wife."My wife had placed a 50gm gold chain with two lockets and a rudraksha chain with three lockets on the bedside. While heading to dinner around 9.30pm, I noticed she wasn't wearing the chains. She went near the bed to collect them and was shocked to see them missing. We immediately informed the hotel management and with their help, carefully searched the room again, but in vain. We suspect housekeeping staff may have stolen them," read the complaint.Police said they have questioned the housekeeping staff. "We were busy with New Year security duties. We will question more staff this week," said police.

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President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stand on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea on June 30, 2019. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has long threatened to “find a new way” if the United States persists with sanctions. And when North Korea announced his “revolutionary” new way Wednesday, the strategy revealed both a defiance and a deep caution in confronting President Donald Trump.

Kim vowed, in a lengthy policy statement, to expand his country’s nuclear force, making vague threats to show off a “new strategic weapon” in the near future and “shift to a shocking actual action.” He warned that North Korea would not be bound by a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests.

But he also moderated those threats by leaving out the specifics. Kim did not explicitly say that he was formally lifting the test moratorium or that he was terminating diplomacy. Instead, he said his efforts to expand his nuclear weapons capabilities could be adjusted “depending on the U.S. future attitude.”

It’s a wait-and-see approach that leaves room for more negotiations.

Analysts say that Kim is making a calculation against the backdrop of the political uncertainty in the United States, where Trump faces both a Senate impeachment trial and an election. The North Korean leader, they said, does not necessarily want to rush to strike a deal that could be overturned if Trump does not win a second term.

“Kim Jong Un continues to hedge his bets,” said Jean H. Lee, a North Korea expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. “I think we’ll see Kim continue to find ways to provoke Washington as a way to gain the upper hand in future nuclear negotiations without directly challenging President Trump.”

As he waits, Kim can continue to play the role of tough guy, increasing the stakes in his nuclear brinkmanship. North Korea can expand its nuclear arsenal, produce more bomb fuel, build more nuclear warheads and improve its missile capabilities.

Less predictable is whether or when Kim might deliver an infuriating message to Trump by testing a nuclear weapon or intercontinental ballistic missile.

Such a test could precipitate another “fire and fury” response from Trump. When Kim last conducted such tests, in 2017, Trump threatened to “totally destroy North Korea,” inciting fears of possible war.

Tensions eased after North Korea declared a test moratorium in April 2018. And after Trump met with Kim in Singapore later that year, the president said the two “fell in love.”

That moratorium remains the best outcome Trump can cite from his on-and-off diplomacy with Kim — one that the North Korean leader may be wary of yanking away too soon.

By treading carefully, Pyongyang also avoids more economic pain. Launching a long-range missile would set off another round of United Nations sanctions, and such tests could also provoke China and Russia at a time when Kim strongly needs their help to blunt the pain of current internationals measures.

Those sanctions required China, Russia and other countries to send North Korean workers home by late last month, depriving Kim’s government of a key source of hard currency. North Korea also increasingly depends on Chinese tourists as an alternative source of income, and Kim has recently built a number of tourist zones to attract them.

In his policy report this week, Kim acknowledged that his country’s efforts at economic reform faced “grave problems” and were “not making visible progress,” according to the state news media. He also reported “evil practices and stagnation” in key industries and criticized his economic officials for “merely shouting the slogan of self-reliance” while lacking leadership and “responsibility” to revamp the economy.

Kim also indicated that he was preparing for a “protracted” standoff with Washington, exhorting North Koreans to accept it as “a fait accompli that we have to live under the sanctions.” After 18 months of faltering diplomacy, he said he was convinced that his country should stick to “self-reliance” rather than embracing the “brilliant transformation” of its economy that Trump promised if Pyongyang abandoned its nuclear weapons.

Kim also called on his people “never to barter the security and dignity” that the North’s nuclear deterrent provided, “even though we tighten our belts.”

For Subscribers Records reveal $100,000 in charges as scrutiny of Haines City continues

Haines City's credit card purchases have been under scrutiny since February, when expensive dinners brought former city manager Ed Dean under fire.

San Jose Sharks (17-21-3, eighth in the Pacific Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-4, third in the Metropolitan Division) Pittsburgh; Thursday, 7 p.m.

San Jose Sharks (17-21-3, eighth in the Pacific Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-11-4, third in the Metropolitan Division)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh hosts the San Jose Sharks after Evgeni Malkin scored two goals in the Penguins' 5-2 victory against the Senators.

The Penguins have gone 16-4-2 in home games. Pittsburgh has scored 134 goals and ranks seventh in the NHL averaging 3.4 per game. Bryan Rust leads the team with 16.

The Sharks are 6-10-2 in road games. San Jose averages 11.4 penalty minutes per game, the third-most in the league. Evander Kane leads the team serving 83 total minutes.

The teams match up Thursday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Malkin leads the Penguins with 27 assists and has recorded 38 points this season. Rust has totalled seven goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

Kane leads the Sharks with 14 goals and has recorded 28 points. Timo Meier has five goals and one assist over the last 10 games for San Jose.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 2-7-1, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.4 penalties and 11.5 penalty minutes while allowing 2.7 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.

Penguins: 8-2-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.8 assists, three penalties and 7.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.

INJURIES: Penguins: Justin Schultz: out (lower body).

Sharks: Antti Suomela: out (upper body), Melker Karlsson: day to day (undisclosed).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Patrick Kane had two goals and two assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks raced out to a four-goal lead and held on to beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Kane set up goals by Olli Maatta at 4:14 and Alex Debrincat at 5:35 and then made it 3-0 at 12:44 of the first period when he cut across the slot and beat David Rittich with a wrist shot from 30 feet out.

Kane’s 21st goal of the season was the 377th of his career, tying him with Denis Savard for fourth on the Blackhawks’ all-time list. The top three are Bobby Hull (604), Stan Makita (541) and Steve Larmer (406).

Kane’s second of the game was an empty-netter at 19:59 of the third.

Kane finishes the decade as the NHL’s top scorer with 802 points, just ahead of Sidney Crosby (788).

Dylan Strome also scored for Chicago (18-17-6), which has won three straight and five of six.

Sam Bennett, Michael Frolik and Sean Monahan scored for Calgary (20-17-5). The Flames are winless in their last five at home. (0-4-1).

Robin Lehner was excellent in net for the Blackhawks, winning his sixth straight start to improve to 12-6-4. He finished with 41 saves.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: At Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

Flames: Host New York Rangers on Thursday.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kolam in front of house against CAA, NRC (File photo)

CHENNAI: The city police commissioner on Wednesday said his officers were probing the alleged Pakistan links of a woman activist booked for anti-CAA kolam protests after one of her social media accounts mentioned her as being part of an organisation based in that country.A K Viswanathan told reporters the Facebook profile of Gayatri Kandhadai, one of those booked, says she is a researcher for Bytes For All (B4A), Pakistan, part of The Association of All Pakistan Citizen Journalists (AAPCJ) based in Pakistan. She was among eight people who held the innovative protest by drawing kolam (rangoli) before they were arrested and detained at a wedding hall on December 29. They were later released.A few organisations like the Welfare Party of India, Arappor Iyakkam and Campus Front of India support her. "We will probe the level of her links with Pakistan," the commissioner said.The website of Bytes for All (B4A), Pakistan says it is a human rights organisation and a research think tank with a focus on information and communication technologies. It organises discussions on relevant topics, presents findings, mobilises opinion.On the eight people being booked, Viswanathan said no permission was issued to them to protest against CAA and NRC. "Police did not interfere until an issue was created. A protester drew the anti-CAA messages despite opposition from a houseowner," he said and showed a video of a nonagenarian saying anti-CAA messages were drawn before his house without his permission.Later, incensed at the arrest of the protesters, DMK leaders and partymen drew similar kolams in front of their houses.Protests, meanwhile, continued across Tamil Nadu . At midnight on Tuesday, as many as 200 activists decided to go on a procession from Panagal Maligai to Raj Bhavan when police stopped them. They raised slogans for nearly an hour and dispersed. In Nagapattinam, more than 2,000 people took out a rally on Wednesday demanding that the Centre revoke CAA. The procession, led by Nagappattinam MLA Thamimun Ansari and Kilvelur DMK MLA U Mathivanan, got participation from others parties. In Trichy, police booked members of Makkal Adhikaram, who were also holding an anti-CAA protest, for unlawful assembly.

Render the strategic outlook for 2020 into a core conundrum: How goes the new era of great-power competition? Is it to be security confrontation and economic decoupling?

The crystal ball is clouded by rivalry. China and the US are simultaneously close and apart, enmeshed and divided, locked together in contest while musing about trade and technology cleavage.

The region—using either the Indo-Pacific or Asia–Pacific label—slides towards what Peter Jennings calls ‘a riskier, more dangerous reality’. Australia has ruefully accepted that managing great-power competition is now its ‘first priority’.

Tackling the conundrum is the purpose of the annual survey from the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). With 20 country committees, plus the EU and Pacific Islands Forum, CSCAP ruminates from many angles in its 2020 regional security outlook.

The outlook’s editor, Ron Huisken, writes that rivalry between the two mega-states is deepening international division and antagonism:

The present clash between the US and China is arrestingly sharp and deep not only because the stakes are so high and the parties so profoundly different—most critically, perhaps, in terms of philosophies on governance—but also because it has been brewing over several decades of increasingly intimate and complex interaction.

A fundamental question, Huisken writes, is the tools and mindsets states can legitimately bring to the competition. The answer will determine if interdependence can be maintained or if there will be a significant degree of disengagement.

So, contest for sure, cleavage perhaps.

Reporting from the US, Siddharth Mohandas writes that the Trump administration has ‘fundamentally shifted the US–China relationship in a more competitive and even confrontational direction’. The US policy focus on China extends far beyond trade to encompass economic, security, technology and ideological issues that ‘are now increasingly at the centre of American foreign policy’.

In Canberra, Australia’s top diplomat foresees an era of enduring differences with China, calling it the ‘new normal’. The same phrase is used by Mohandas in his final sentence: ‘The evidence of the past year is that instability is not a passing phenomenon but the new normal against which all regional capitals must plan.’

From China, Wu Xinbo writes that Beijing senses Washington’s determination to reorient its ‘policy towards a more competitive and confrontational stance’, pushing China’s ‘trust towards the US to a historical low’. Wu judges that the relationship has gone from cool to freezing:

The Asia–Pacific has entered a period of profound changes set off by shifts in the power balance as well by adjustments of strategy and policy settings by regional players. Managing major power competition and dealing with hot spot issues top the regional security agenda, while Sino-US interactions hold the key.

Wu says Beijing and Washington must delineate the boundary of their intensifying competition:

Robust economic ties benefiting both countries should ‘not be decoupled or seriously downgraded’. Economic interdependence doesn’t prevent contention (‘actually close economic ties tend to be a major source of frictions’) but can be a buffer by raising the cost of conflict.

Both parties need to exercise strategic self-restraint. They should ‘avoid drawing lines and encouraging members of the region to split into rival camps, otherwise the economically most dynamic region will gradually lose its momentum for growth and integration’.

The most urgent issue for China–US security relations is crisis avoidance and management. For that, ‘good communication at the strategic level and effective management at the tactical level are indispensable’.

From Japan, Yoshihide Soeya writes that one benefit of the Trump presidency has been to allow Japan and China to sweep ‘contentious and awkward’ issues under the carpet:

This is because they have bigger tensions and issues with the United States, mostly related to economic and trade negotiations. Since these frictions are not likely to be eased anytime soon, the momentum of improvement in relations between Japan and China is also likely to be sustained for some time to come.

Southeast Asia offers variations on the familiar themes of ASEAN centrality and not having to choose sides in the battle of the giants.

Singapore’s William Choong gives a nuanced account of ‘the blessedness of (not) making a choice’. ASEAN members, he writes, want to be equidistant between China and the US, to ‘avoid stark choices’ in the geopolitical joust. Pressure builds, however, as that equidistant space shrinks. Singapore finds itself walking a ‘narrowing plank’ or ‘narrowing tightrope’.

The readout from Laos, from Sulathin Thiladej, is that the decline of the US and the rise of China are eroding or undermining ASEAN’s centrality and coherence:

ASEAN, as a driver for cooperation in the Asia Pacific, is losing momentum as the region’s centre of gravity shifts from Southeast Asia to China. China’s rise has unsettling consequences for ASEAN centrality, creating new tensions and uncertainties that threaten to break ASEAN’s solidarity and coherence.

Vietnam’s Le Dinh Tinh says the US–China relationship has five levels, running from cooperation to adversary. The expanding competition between the world’s two greatest economies has reached level-four intensity (rivalry):

The notion that these great powers are on a collision course has been circulated in the policy communities of both countries. Rather than greater caution, however, we have seen the two sides toughen their positions and resort to measures hitherto unthinkable.

The view from Australia, from the Australian National University’s Brendan Taylor, says Canberra’s recent bout of ‘strategic anxiety’ awakens old arguments about whether Australia can find its security with Asia rather than from Asia. His chapter begins with the title of a book written 40 years ago by the Oz diplomat, Alan Renouf, The frightened country, describing an anxious nation that saw more dangers than opportunities in Asia.

Donald Trump’s alliance antipathy ‘feeds a deep Australian fear of abandonment’, Taylor writes, and Australia’s security outlook is becoming ‘much darker and apprehensive’.

The sense of apprehension is one outlook shared by the whole region. Great-power contest is here, hauling into view the scenario of economic and technological decoupling.

This article was published by The Strategist.

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Question:
If the Tokyo Olympics aren’t enough reason to plan a trip to Japan this summer, Japan Airlines has an offer that could sweeten the deal—free tickets to a surprise destination in the country for 50,000 lucky travelers.

To encourage visitors to travel more widely within Japan, the airline is giving away free round-trip tickets for flights within Japan to foreign tourists this summer.

There are a few requirements: Travelers must fly to Japan on Japan Airlines between July 1 and Sept. 30. They must also be registered with the carrier’s Mileage Bank frequent flier program.

Applications for the program will open in late February and the airline is expected to release more details in January. The free tickets will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. You can learn more about the program on Japan Airlines’ website.

The airline offers direct flights to major U.S. cities, but travelers can book connections from other cities on the Japan Airlines website.

Applicants will select which airport they want to fly out of — either Haneda Airport in Tokyo, or Itami or Kansai Airports in Osaka. Travelers will be shown four possible destinations within Japan. If they win, they’ll receive an email within three days notifying them which of the four places they’ll be flying free to.

All Nippon Airways, Japan’s largest airline, will be offering discount airfares to lesser-visited parts of Japan this summer. The tickets, which will allow travelers to make multi-stop trips, will go on sale in time for the Olympics.

Read more: Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 Summer Olympics

Japan is expected to see a surge in tourism this summer as the country hosts the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo from July 24 to Aug. 9. Some famous hotels in the capital have already stopped taking room reservations and a 14,000-room shortfall is forecast. The government expects that the Olympics will attract about 10 million visitors, according to Japan Times.

The country has been seeing a tourist boom in recent years. Japan saw more than 31 million international visitors in 2018, including 1.5 million from the U.S., according to figures from the Japan National Tourist Organization.

Final preparations for the 2020 games are underway; the new national stadium, which will be used as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, was completed earlier this month. The official Olympics mascot, a half-superhero, half-robot name Miraitowa, has also been unveiled.

This is the second time the Olympics has been held in Tokyo. In 1964, the city became the first in Asia to host the games.

To celebrate Tokyo hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics, Japan Airlines (JAL) is giving away 50,000 round-trip tickets for international tourists.

The campaign, called "Win a Trip with JAL,” will begin in late February ahead of the Olympics, which begin July 24.

The free tickets are for domestic travel within Japan leaving from Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Osaka or Kansai International airports in Osaka. It is designed to give tourists coming to the Olympics from other countries a chance to see Japan outside of Tokyo.

The promotion is part of the larger "Your Japan 2020" campaign, aiming to give travelers cheaper fares on international and domestic flights, discounted excursions and more, according to USA Today.

As always, there are restrictions. For starters, this is not for residents of Japan. If you have a Japanese passport, you need to have permanent residence in a different country to access the promotion. The promotion is also only available for JAL Mileage Bank members not registered in Japan. And flight need to be reserved at least a week in advance of the first flight (and your return flight can't be longer than 10 days later).

Also, JAL announced it's bringing back a beloved Japanese tradition known as “Hatsuhinode,” which translates to “welcoming of the first sunrise,” with its "First Sunrise Flight." Guests will be able to take in the glory of the first sunrise of 2020 and reflect on the year ahead with a glass of mazu-sake and beautiful views of Mount Fuji’s peak, lit up by bright rays of sunshine, symbolizing good luck.

Passengers onboard will also enjoy osechi bento meals and specially prepared dishes traditionally eaten on the first day of January.

Emami Ltd is quoting at Rs 314, up 1.32% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The stock is down 25.72% in last one year as compared to a 12.82% jump in NIFTY and a 0.07% jump in the Nifty FMCG.

Emami Ltd is up for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 314, up 1.32% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.07% on the day, quoting at 12176.55. The Sensex is at 41298, up 0.11%. Emami Ltd has slipped around 0.76% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty FMCG index of which Emami Ltd is a constituent, has slipped around 2.18% in last one month and is currently quoting at 30121.5, up 0.31% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 48785 shares today, compared to the daily average of 2.47 lakh shares in last one month.

The PE of the stock is 37.78 based on TTM earnings ending September 19.

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The Twins signed starting pitchers Homer Bailey and Rich Hill to one-year contracts Tuesday.

The 33-year-old Bailey is a 13-year major league veteran who split last season between Kansas City and Oakland, going 13-9 with a 4.57 ERA in 31 starts. In 243 major league games, all starts, the righthander is 80-86 with a 4.57 ERA.

His contract will be worth $7 million, with incentives if he reaches 180 innings, a major league source told the Star Tribune.

Bailey's best season came in 2013 when he was 11-12 with a 3.49 ERA for the Reds and had 199 strikeouts in 209 innings. Cincinnati gave him a six-year, $105 million contract extension at that point, but he had arm trouble in 2014 and had Tommy John surgery in 2015. More arm surgery followed; in 2018 he was 1-14 with a 6.09 ERA and the Reds traded him in a salary dump to the Dodgers, who released him.

After signing a minor league deal with Kansas City, Bailey was 7-6 for the Royals last season. They traded him to the A's at the deadline, and he was 6-3 for a playoff team.

Hill, a lefthander, will be 40 on Opening Day. He has pitched for eight teams in 15 seasons, and had only 13 starts for the Dodgers last season because of portion of the UCL in his left elbow detached. He had surgery in October and will be out until at least June. Hill was 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 48⅔ innings last season.

His contract is for $3 million, with incentives worth close to $10 million, a source confirmed.

In 2013, Hill made 63 appearances in relief for the Cleveland, but shortly thereafter turned his career around by adding a devastating curveball. The major problem with throwing his curve is that it tears the skin on the side of his middle finger, and that has limited him, although he made 25 starts in both 2017 and 2018 for the Dodgers' World Series teams.

He has also pitched for the Red Sox, Cubs, A's, Angels, Yankees and Orioles.

In 3½ seasons in Los Angeles, Hill started 68 games and had a 3.16 ERA and a 7.1 WAR. In 50 innings in the playoffs, his ERA was 2.70; his last contract with the Dodgers was for three years and $48 million.

Hill and his wife made headlines on Dec. 22 when they were detained by police at an NFL game between Buffalo and New England in Foxborough, Mass.

Caitlin Hill repeatedly tried to enter Gillette Stadium with an oversized bag, and as police took her into custody, Rich Hill was also arrested because he tried to stop them. On Dec. 23, they both were ordered to pay $500 fines for civil infractions. Hill released a statement where he said, "Seeing my wife handcuffed for a problem that started because of her fanny pack was extremely difficult for me to witness. This was all overblown and we are glad to have it behind us."

The Twins' starting rotation is not exactly set because neither Hill nor Michael Pineda, who is serving 39 more games of a suspension for using a banned diuretic, will be ready for the season opener on March 28.

Barring injuries, Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi and Bailey appear likely to be the top three coming out of spring training. Until Hill and Pineda are ready, it's likely Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak and/or Lewis Thorpe will be in the starting mix. Unlike last season, when the first month of the season was marked by off-days and the Twins needed only four starters, in 2020 the team has only four off-days from the start of the schedule on March 26 until May 7.

The Twins, two major league sources confirmed, are still very much in the running for free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson.

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CLEVELAND (WJW) — Four people were shot during a New Year's Eve party at a club in downtown Cleveland.

Cleveland police say shots were fired at Medusa Restaurant & Lounge on St. Clair Avenue near East 13th Street around 1 a.m.

Two of the four victims were treated by paramedics on scene. The other two were taken to MetroHealth Medical Center in private vehicles and are in stable condition.

Video shared with FOX 8 from someone attending the holiday party depicts chaos in the moments following the shooting.

In another video, posted on Instagram, attendees are seen dancing and singing along to the music when the shots were fired inside the club, interrupting the festivities.

According to the club's Instagram account, rapper Chief Keef was scheduled to perform at the party.

Police say that no arrests have been made and it is currently unknown what led to the shooting. The incident remains under investigation.

LARKANA: Eight out of 20 new dialysis machines are dysfunctional because of faulty RO plant at Chandka Medical College Hospital, Larkana.

As many as 20 new dialysis machines were supplied to Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) in June 2018 along with two Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants by the health department; out of which 12 have been installed a few days back on the ground floor after lapse of one and half year and eight on the first floor of the CMCH Dialysis Center.

One out of three RO plants supplied with the machines is found faulty due to which eight machines installed on the first floor are yet to be made functional.

Sources at the CMCH Dialysis Center told PPI on Wednesday that the Sindh health department procured 200 dialysis machines for various healthcare facilities in Sindh but nothing was informed in 2018 as to who procured the machines and who their suppliers were. They said that due to this ambiguity instead of urgent installation and the machines were dumped at the store. The issue was finally taken up by the probing agencies after which documents were supplied to the relevant hospitals in the province which later also received these machines.

The sources said 14 old dialysis machines have now been kept aside as 40 to 45 kidney-failure patients are daily receiving dialysis each for 3 to 3.30 hours whenever they needed it. They said 160 dialysis patients are registered at the moment, who belong to various areas out of which 85 are hepatitis negative, 60 hepatitis positive and 15 are HIV positive.

Five machines are reserved for Hepatitis negative, five for hepatitis positive and four for HIV positive patients (out of which two are working and the remaining two are dysfunctional).

When this scribe visited the site there was no female staff nurse posted to look after the female patients and all work was done by the male staff.

Duty doctors said on condition of anonymity as they have been banned from talking to media they could not say anything. However, they said that they have been facing acute shortage of medics and paramedics since long but the CMCH authorities are not paying heed to their several complaints.

They said five dialysis technicians are posted against the need of 10 technicians, six doctors are posted against the demand of 12 who work in three shifts. They said that this vital ward has even no ward boy and a man has been hired by them on daily wages basis out of their own pocket.

CCTV cameras have already been installed to monitor the dialysis process but an acute shortage of trained manpower has added to the woes of patients.

Head of Department Dr Zahid Shaikh said that despite some shortcomings the Center is now working smoothly for the benefit of poverty-ridden dialysis patients. He said a shortage of required medics and paramedics would also be tackled so that workload could be reduced.

By Julie Laakko

[email protected]

MASCOUTAH – This is a frightening time. Our daily way of life has been disrupted in more ways than one, and no one seems to know what to expect. In response to the Shelter in Place order, even the churches have closed their doors to protect their congregations. Church leaders in Mascoutah are working hard to provide worship services as best they can.

• First Assembly of God has suspended their services and have been posting online worship services on their YouTube page – First Assembly of God Mascoutah.

• St. John United Church of Christ has suspended all in-person worship services and classes. Sunday and Wednesday Lenten Services are available on their website www.saintjohnucc.org or their Facebook page.

• St. Martin of Tours Lutheran Church has suspended all services until April 1. Their Order of Service and Live Stream can be found on their Facebook page.

• Bethel United Methodist has suspended all on-site activities. There is an online worship streaming on Facebook Live at 10:30 on Sundays.

• Mercy’s Door has suspended their meetings. A 10 AM online worship service is available on Sundays on Facebook and also have a link to a children’s Bible Project video series to discuss with their parents.

• Mascoutah First Baptist Church suspended their services, but are providing an online service on Facebook Live. The service will be held March 22 at 10:45 AM.

• Cross Pointe Christian Church is not gathering at this time. Pastor Charlie McGee’s message is available at www.ourcrosspointe.org. More information can be found on their Facebook page.

• Zion Lutheran Church is providing Sunday and Lenten worship services through online and streaming services, primarily Facebook Live. They are offering a Bible class through the ZOOM app. Anyone interested in the Bible Class should contact Zion Lutheran.

• Holy Childhood has limited their service to two live stream online masses: one at 5 PM on Saturdays and one at 9 AM on Sundays. The Live Stream can be accessed at www.holychildhoodchurch.com by clicking on the link that says Live Stream Mass. There are also other links on their website that can be used.

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