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Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], Jan 1 (ANI): With an aim to boost the confidence of customers and bring in more transparency in the real estate sector, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) here on Wednesday.

"It is just because of a handful of realtors who divert from good practice and indulge in illegal ways to mint money that the whole sector sometimes get a black mark. We have heard terms like the real-estate mafia," Vijayan said at the official launch event.

"It is the greed of a few that are spoiling the market. With the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in place, there will be more transparency and credibility. It will also help to redefine the promoter-buyer relationship in the sector, " he added.

The Kerala Chief Minister further said that the real-estate sector has seen tremendous growth in the country in the last decade.

"It also helped the middle class realize their housing needs. With an effective regulatory mechanism, the real estate sector is poised to grow more instilling confidence in home buyers," he said.

Passed by the Parliament, the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, had directed the state governments to establish RERA for effective regulation of the real estate sector and also for speedy dispute redressal.

As per the Act, buildings with more than eight apartments and real estates projects with 500 square metres of land or more will have to be registered with RERA. (ANI)

The Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) will help build trust in the real estate sector and infuse it with transparency and efficiency, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday.

The activities of a few individuals have served to malign this important sector to the extent that it has been equated to a ‘mafia,’ the Chief Minister said, formally inaugurating K-RERA at a function here.

With its emphasis on protecting the interests of consumers (buyers, allottees), K-RERA focusses on the prevention of malpractices in the real estate sector, he said.

Duping of buyers

Instances of buyers being duped by a section in the real estate sector had prompted the Parliament to pass the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act in 2016 making it mandatory for all States to form RERAs. K-RERA is designed to prevent such malpractices in Kerala.

Realtors who function in a lawful manner will not find themselves inconvenienced by RERA, Mr. Vijayan said.

The real estate sector is integral to the development of land. Negative financial trends in real estate affects the economic sector as a whole.

If policies are favourable, the sector can grow. So it is important to have policies and approaches that do not weaken it.

While the sector has witnessed spectacular growth in the past few decades, the absence of an effective regulatory mechanism was the main reason for the problems associated with real estate sector.

“This is not a sector which should be equated to a ‘mafia’,” the Chief Minister said.

From Oct. 2019

Technically, K-RERA came into being in October last year with P.H. Kurian as chairman and Preetha P. Menon as member. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, makes it compulsory for builders to register projects with the State-level RERA.

Real estate agents also need to get themselves with the authority. RERA registration is applicable to projects where the land to be developed is 500 square metres or more and the number of apartments is eight or more inclusive of all phases.

An adjudicating officer who will handle compensation claims and an appellate tribunal for handling appeals on K-RERA decisions will be appointed soon, the Chief Minister said. He issued the registration certificates to builders and real estate agents who registered with RERA. The Chief Minister also released the emblem of K-RERA on the occasion. Minister for Local Self Government A. C. Moideen presided. Additional Chief Secretary T.K. Jose, K-RERA chairman P. H. Kurian and member Preetha P. Menon spoke.

Northern Ireland welcomes first babies of 2020 with little Shane Tierney born...

Northern Ireland didn’t have to wait long for it’s first new arrival of 2020 and the race to be the first baby born in the new decade was won by little Shane Tierney in Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry.

Born to Derry mum Tamara Tierney, Shane weighed in at 8lb 2oz and arrived just seconds after the final chime of Big Ben at 12.01am.

A staff nurse at Altnagelvin, Tamara (26) hadn’t expected to be back at the hospital until Shane’s due date of January 8.

A few complications brought her in early to the maternity ward and having started the process on Monday, Tamara said she’d lost track of the days and was amazed when Shane was born to the cheering of midwives as the clocked turned past midnight.

“That’s the first I knew the New Year had arrived, right at the same time as Shane,” she said.

“To be honest, I was just so glad he was here. You get to the stage where you just want to see him arrive safely.

“Thankfully he did and he’s doing so well today.

I drive past these semi-permanent houses on my way to work. Each time I see a little boy in the same dirty rugged cloths, playing with younger, seemingly better dressed children. I wonder if he goes to school or has parents. The Ghetto song (1969 by Elvis Presley) comes to mind, increasing my sense of guilt, as I fly past with my son safely tucked away in the backseat. Each time, I feel the urge to stop and ask him a few questions but time waits for no man…..that is until one time, I see him no more. My heart tightens in a knot, fearing that he might be dead; out of neglect, or a drunken kick perhaps?

After three days of not seeing him, I sum up some courage in the early morning to drive over to a rundown house about where he lives. A lady in the backyard is feeding her child on beans and cabbage at that odd hour, but at least it is a healthy diet. I ask about the rugged child. She knocks on some little shack by the house and out comes, not one, but three little children and a very pregnant mum. They are very dirty, the middle child hosting a white-foam-like fungal infection all over his head. Seeing the shock on my face, the lady explains, “There are many other kids like that here…give it another hour and they’ll emerge from those shacks around this house”.

It turns out there are a number of ladies living in these cramped mud stalls that formerly housed market kiosks; now earmarked for demolition. For now, it is free accommodation until government’s decision to revamp the area. The majority of them are street workers, and nearly all their children are born out of prostitution.

I walk back to the car half relieved that the child has a mother, but not sure he’s any better off nonetheless. I wonder how to help. His mother is a street worker that infected him with HIV at childbirth. His two siblings are HIV negative, thanks to modern medicine. The next time I pass by, most of the women are by the roadside with hungry looking, barely clad children. Perhaps I am seeing them for the first time because I cared to look. I can’t shrug off this feeling that I’ve opened a can of worms.

Thinking I could do draw on my project planning skills, I organise a meeting with the ladies to understand their crucial needs. But their pained hopeless look was more than I had bargained for. 60% of them are HIV positive. One of them was a fruit vendor until her basket got nabbed by security agents. She has never recouped her business since. Others were lured to town by family or friends that let them down. They cannot be helped at local level because they have to return to their villages where purportedly, there is better support.

Another has failed to make it in the city and is afraid to go back to her village with children to support. The mother of the little boy has one eye, the other taken out by his abusive father. Nearly all of them have boils all over their skin, caused by the swamp water they use for bathing, and of course of the HIV infection. When asked if they had eaten, they laughingly pointed at their neighbours that had not come for the meeting. ‘They worked last night’, they said, ‘we see them cooking’. Desperate for some income, they work for as low as 500 francs.

Behind the loud alcohol induced verbosity, the pain in their eyes is almost tangible. They are desperately poor, filthy, spited…simply the wretched of the earth. They accept as normal the sneers and awkward looks, and drown themselves in local beer to avert their shame, even if for a little while. The drunken fights are often. Their children seem attuned to this of environment.

An NGO that supports street workers gives them work for two weeks. The neighbouring residences are profusely thankful. The ladies haven’t fought for a while; too tired after a long day’s work to bother with anything else. I am absolutely pleased with this outcome. Despite the negative comments about them, they have proven that given a chance, they can be useful hardworking citizens like the rest of us. The struggle is still on. I will not give up on them, because I am also a woman; just lucky to be more privileged.

Recently, a mother of two lost her life…to abortion. Another one gave birth to a baby girl born from prostitution. And its Mama cries. It’s the ghetto song all over again.

In the Ghetto

As the snow flies

On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’

A poor little baby child is born

In the ghetto

And his mama cries

‘cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need

it’s another hungry mouth to feed

In the ghetto

People, don’t you understand

the child needs a helping hand

or he’ll grow to be an angry young man someday

Take a look at you and me,

are we too blind to see,

do we simply turn our heads

and look the other way

Well the world turns

and a hungry little boy with a runny nose

plays in the street as the cold wind blows

In the ghetto

And his hunger burns

so he starts to roam the streets at night

and he learns how to steal

and he learns how to fight

In the ghetto

Then one night in desperation

a young man breaks away

He buys a gun, steals a car,

tries to run, but he don’t get far

And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers ‘round an angry young man

face down on the street with a gun in his hand

In the ghetto

As her young man dies,

on a cold and gray Chicago mornin’,

another little baby child is born

In the ghetto.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com

Spending N37bn On National Assembly Renovation Ridiculous – TUC

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has described as ridiculous the proposal to renovate the National Assembly complex at a cost of N37bn.

The TUC stated this in its Christmas and New Year message, which was jointly signed by the President, TUC, Quadri Olaleye and Secretary General, Musa-Lawal Ozigi.

Adding that Nigeria was a country in dire straits that required all hands on deck to get it fixed, the union argued that virtually all policies of government were wrongly placed and benefited nobody at the end.

It said, “How do we explain that in a country adjudged to be the poverty capital of the world; a country that lacks basic health facilities, infrastructure and has never spent up to 10 per cent of her annual budget on education, they are talking about spending a whopping N37bn just for National Assembly renovation?

“ It is ridiculous and unheard of.

“This rub-my-back I rub yours kind of government, mischievously orchestrated by a few negates the tenets of Christianity and humanity.”

It pointed out that the Nigerian environment that was supposed to attract development and peace attracted the opposite.

It stated, “We are tempted to think that our leaders do not really ponder on God’s love for all at all. An environment devoid of crises attracts development and peace. Ours has been a tale of woes. Joblessness has led a substantial number of the youth into crimes, ranging from kidnapping, robbery to ritual killing and cyber crimes, etc.

“The peak is the terrorism and suicide we are being faced with presently. This is not who we are; we need to find our real identity.

“We condemn criminality no matter the shade it comes; but it is not enough to do so. What plans does government have in place to give the youths a sense of belonging? We must begin to set our priorities right. If we claim to love God but hate our neighbour we are already in contradiction with ourselves.

“We must be willing to give a helping hand to those in need, succour and comfort to the vulnerable. At Christmas, we are expected to spare time to contemplate, and not to dwell on the mundane things of the world. We are strangers on this part of the earth and it is important we live with this consciousness so that when we return home we shall be at peace with ourselves.”

TUC also called on Nigerians to remain focused on making Nigeria a better society.

It pointed out that said the change the nation craved for could only come, if the citizens, especially the public officers eschew personal interests for national development.

It prayed that the “season serves as an end to an incongruous reality, and ushers in a new dawn for respect for the rule of law, human rights and happiness for all.”

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नई दिल्ली। भारतीय अंतरिक्ष अनुसंधान संगठन (ISRO) प्रमुख के सिवन ने बुधवार को बताया कि सरकार ने चंद्रयान- 3 के मिशन को मंजूरी दे दी है, परियोजना पर काम जारी है। चंद्रयान-3 मिशन में ऑर्बिटर नहीं होगा। इसमें केवल लैंडर और रोवर होंगे।

आर्मी चीफ नरवाणे ने देशवासियों को दी नए साल की शुभकामनाएं, कहा- हम देश की सुरक्षा पर आंच नहीं आने देंगे

ISRO chief K Sivan: We have made good progress on Chandrayan-2, even though we could not land successfully, the orbiter is still functioning, its going to function for the next 7 years to produce science data pic.twitter.com/6tw683HTnk

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A woman accused of slapping three Jewish women in Brooklyn was charged on Saturday with attempted assault as a hate crime and released without bail, only to be re-arrested less than 24 hours later for a similar crime.

Police initially arrested Tiffany Harris, 30, on Friday night after they say she slapped assaulted three Orthodox women, ages 22 to 31, in the face and head on a street corner in Brooklyn's Crown Heights area.

According to a criminal complaint, Harris, who is black, admitted to attacking the women and spewing anti-Semitic slurs.

Tiffany Harris, 30, was first arrested on Friday for allegedly slapping three Jewish women in Brooklyn and yelling at them, 'F-U, Jews!'

'Yes, I slapped them. I cursed them out. I said "F-U, Jews,"' Harris was quoted as telling investigators at the time of her arrest.

She was arraigned on a slew of misdemeanor charges of attempted assault as a hate crime, harassment and menacing on Saturday, after which she was released from jail without bail.

Her lawyer, Iris Ying, declined to comment, and the New York Post reported that Harris rebuffed questions as she left a Brooklyn court.

On Sunday morning, Harris was arrested again, this time for allegedly hitting a 35-year-old woman in the face on Eastern Parkway in the Prospect Heights neighborhood, leaving the victim with a swollen and bruised right eye, according to police.

It is unknown whether the victim in the Sunday attack was Jewish; police are not treating the incident as a hate crime.

Musician Dalia Shusterman (left and right), who witnessed the attack, posted on Facebook that she and four friends were on their way home from a Hanukkah party when Harris hit one of the women on the back of the head

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has defended the release of defendants as part of bail reform in the city, insisting: 'We have a problem. We're not going to jail our way out of the problem.

TIMELINE OF ATTACKS ON JEWS IN NEW YORK Friday, 7am - Man in hoodie threatens to shoot up Lubavitch headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn Friday, 12:40am - Tiffany Harris, 30, is arrested for allegedly slapping three other women in the face and head on a Crown Heights corner Thursday, 3:20pm - Homeless woman, 42, yells anti-Semitic slur and then strikes a Jewish woman in the head with her bag in front of her three-year-old son Wednesday, 1am - A Jewish man wearing a skullcap while walking in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn was punched in an unprovoked attack Tuesday - A 25-year-old Jewish man had a drink thrown at him by a group shouting anti-Semitic slurs Tuesday, 5pm - A Jewish man, 56, was punched in the head by one person as others filmed the incident and laughed Monday night - Two Jewish boys attacked by two teens in Williamsburg who punched one of the children in the stomach. Monday - A Miami man was arrested for making an anti-Semitic remark and attacking a man in midtown Manhattan

'We have a huge NYPD presence. This hate is dangerous.'

Around the city, police have gotten at least six reports this week - and eight since December 13 - of attacks possibly propelled by anti-Jewish bias.

Mayor de Blasio said Friday that police presence would increase in Crown Heights and two other Brooklyn neighborhoods with large Jewish populations.

Dalia Shusterman, one of the Jewish women who was allegedly slapped by Harris on Friday, later recounted the incident on Facebook, calling the attacker a 'raving lunatic' who struck her friend on the back of the head while spewing 'a mouthful of Jew hatred' as the women walked home from a Hanukkah party.

In an interview with the Jewish news publication The Algemeiner, Shusterman, who is a musician playing in the band The New Moon All Stars, blasted law enforcement officials for letting Harris go without bail following the attack on Friday.

'It’s a malignant growth out of their unwillingness to sympathize with the Orthodox Jewish community, which has always been relegated as the other, stereotyped as oppressors, and treated as unworthy of societal protection,' she stated.

Shusterman took to Facebook again on Sunday, sarcastically remarking on Harris' second arrest: 'remember that charmer I introduced to you who's hand collided with the heads of 3 Jewish women a few nights ago while spewing Jew hatred at us, and then got released from custody hours later because deBlasio and Cuomo are such nice guys and totally have this under control? Well jumping Jiminy, she's at it again.'

Tensions remain high in Jewish communities following a series of attacks and incidents in recent weeks

Court records show that Harris has two other cases pending against her involving charges of assault, attempted assault, harassment, menacing and criminal mischief.

She is scheduled to appear before a judge in connection to the attack on the three Jewish women on January 10.

A Brooklyn miscreant accused of slapping three Orthodox Jewish women last week struck again on Sunday and was busted for assaulting another woman.

A day after she was released without bail on charges stemming from the Friday attack, Tiffany Harris was charged with assault for slugging a 35-year-old in the face on Eastern Parkway near Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights at about 9:15 a.m., according to police.

It’s unclear if Sunday’s victim is Jewish — and police weren’t treating the incident as a hate crime. The victim suffered swelling and bruising to her right eye from the pummeling, police said.

On Friday, Harris allegedly assaulted three Orthodox women on Eastern Parkway near Kingston Avenue — one of at least eight anti-Semitic incidents in the city last week.

“Yes, I slapped them. I cursed them out. I said ‘F-U, Jews,” Harris admitted to cops after that attack, according to a criminal complaint.

The two assaults occurred about a mile away from each other.

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(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Qatar's leading telecommunications operator, Ooredoo, has announced special New Year 2020 offers for new and existing Shahry and Qatarna customers.

Both new customers signing up for a new Shahry 5G or Qatarna 5G pack, and existing customers upgrading to a new Shahry 5G or Qatarna 5G pack, can choose an Add-on pack either extra data, local minutes or international minutes, depending on pack absolutely free for three months.

New customers signing up for a Shahry 5G Pack will have the choice of the Data Pack 30, the Local Pack 30 or the International Pack 30 for three months free.

They can enjoy from 2GB to 5GB extra data, 300 to 1000 local minutes or 25 to 100 international minutes extra free per month.

New Qatarna customers will get Data Pack 50 or International Pack 50 free for three months, giving them from 20GB up to 30GB data or 500 to 1000 international minutes extra free per month.

Offers for new customers must be activated in any of our Ooredoo shops around town. Existing Shahry customers who upgrade to a new Shahry 5G pack will get the Data Pack 30 normally priced at QR30 - free for three months, giving them from 2GB to 10GB data extra per month.

Existing Qatarna customers who upgrade to a new Qatarna 5G Pack will get the Data Pack 50 - normally priced at QR50 per month - free for three months, giving them from 20GB to 30GB data extra absolutely free. Offers for existing customers will be activated automatically once the upgrade is processed.

Manar Khalifa Al Muraikhi, Director PR and Corporate Communications at Ooredoo, said: 'The recent launch of our new Shahry and Qatarna 5G postpaid packs has been extremely popular and we're delighted to introduce these offers so customers get even better for value for money as well as our awesome service. Whether they have a 5G-compatible device or not yet, they'll be able to access the Supernet and stay in touch with loved ones for longer with the free add-ons.

The New Year 2020 promotion runs from today until January 4.

MENAFN0101202000630000ID1099494583

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 1 (ANI): People welcomed 2020 here by watching the first sunrise of the year at the Gateway of India on Wednesday morning.

"I had come to shoot the rising sun at the Gateway of India. There is a new feeling every year. I hope for the best in the new year. This time it is a bit cold in Mumbai which is unexpected," Om Singh, a city resident said.

"I have come from Varanasi. Watching the first sunrise here was a novel experience," Rani Singh, a tourist said.

"Watching the first sunrise of 2020 was a mystic experience. My best wishes to everyone on this occasion," Ruchika, another city resident said. (ANI)

From Consortium News

Houses destroyed by earthquake in Haiti, Jan. 21, 2010.

(Image by (EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid/Flickr)) Details DMCA

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade.

These are W.H. Auden's lines, written as the 1930s drew to a close and six years of global conflagration commenced. Eighty years later, they are pitifully, painfully apt as the second decade of our new century gives way to the third.

With 2019 staggering to its end, what do we see when we look back over the 2010s? What when we look forward to the 2020s? These are our questions, each to be answered without flinching, dissembling or deflecting.

It requires a wide-eyed Boy Scout's optimism to consider the decade now behind us and see anything other than a steady descent into global disorder, violence and abuse of international law. If this seems unduly pessimistic, it is merely because the 2010s were also a decade of probably unprecedented mis and disinformation, both deployed to mask responsibility for 10 years' worth of calamities that, with no obvious exceptions, could have been averted.

In this same line, you would have to be Hillary Clinton or Mickey Rooney, fresh from a rendition of "Yankee Doodle Dandy," to miss the rampantly pernicious character of American foreign policy this past decade. The evident trajectory resembles what we find on the climate-change question: Amid copious signs of crisis, the U.S. spent the last 10 years hurtling in the wrong direction. By any measure, it is now very arguably the primary source of global disorder in this century.

U.S. as Major Planetary Threat

The world comes to understand this, even if many Americans prefer to bury themselves in illusions and self-deceptions.

A Pew Research Center study published earlier this year indicated that nearly half the planet now considers the U.S. "a major threat" to their nations. This is almost double the rate of negative views Pew found in 2013, when it began this series of surveys.

Two years ago, the Council on Foreign Relations convened a workshop of Europeans to consider "Managing Global Disorder," as the event was titled. "To some," CFR reported afterward, "the principal source of instability has been the overzealous actions of the United States particularly in the wake of 9/11 in promoting democracy, human rights, and regime change around the world in contravention of established principles of state sovereignty."

The good people at Pew seem intent on sanitizing the 2010s by dropping the blame for this rise in anti-American sentiment on Donald Trump's doorstep. The president certainly bears responsibility for souring the global mood, notably in pulling out of the Paris climate pact in 2017, the Iran nuclear accord a year later, and various arms-limitations agreements with Russia. But let us disabuse ourselves on one important point. The world's wariness and weariness of America's conduct beyond its shores was well in train before Mr. Trump went to Washington.

Bearer of Many Clever Hopes

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New Delhi (Sputnik): Three months after suffering a major jolt in its second lunar mission, India's space agency ISRO has announced a new mission, Chandrayaan-3, on New Year’s Day. New Delhi's ambition to soft-land on the Moon had crashed when the Chandrayaan-2 failed to touch down on the lunar surface as planned on 7 September 2019.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief K. Sivan on Wednesday announced the government has approved a third lunar mission and that work has already commenced on the project.

"Chandrayaan-3 will have a lander, rover, and a propulsion module. The government has approved the project and we have formed the project team. We have initiated this project and work is going on very smoothly on it", ISRO chief Sivan said during a media briefing.

On Tuesday, India’s Minister of State for Space Jitendra Singh said that the second lander mission will be a "cost-effective mission and most likely to be launched in 2020”.

He also informed that the agency has planned more than 25 space missions for 2020.

Sivan said that a lot of design work has been completed for a manned mission, Gaganyaan. "There will be several tests that we'll do this year. Also, the final four astronaut-elects have been selected and they'll begin training in Russia from the third week of January", he added.

India’s manned space mission Gaganyaan will coincide with the 75th anniversary of its independence. In August 2019, India ordered Russian space equipment to ensure the timely preparation of the mission, which will also include two unmanned flights, in December 2020 and July 2021.

The second mission Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft comprised of an orbiter, lander, and rover was successfully launched on-board a domestically-produced GSLV MK III-M1 rocket on 22 July 2019 but lost contact with ISRO's Earth Station just minutes before the scheduled soft-landing near the Moon's South Pole in September.

A successful soft landing on the Moon's surface would have made India only the fourth country — after the United States, Russia, and China — to achieve the feat.

Chandrayaan-1, launched in October 2008, was India's first lunar probe. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft entered the Moon's orbit – making India one of the countries to taste success in its maiden attempt.

One of the objectives was to prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution) of both the near and far side of the Moon. It aimed at conducting chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of mineral and chemical elements such as magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium, iron, and titanium as well as high atomic number elements such as radon, uranium, and thorium with high spatial resolution.

"Various mission planning and management objectives were met", ISRO had announced.

India seeking to become only the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to put a mission on the moon's surface

India plans to make a fresh attempt to land an unmanned mission on the moon in 2020 after a failed bid last year, the head of the country's space programme said Wednesday.

Work is going "smoothly" on the Chandrayaan-3 mission to put a rover probe on the moon's surface, Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K. Sivan told a press conference.

"We are targeting the launch for this year but it may spillover to next year," Sivan said. Indian sources said authorities had set November as a provisional target for launch.

India seeking to become only the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to put a mission on the moon's surface and boost its credentials as a low-cost space power.

The country's Chandrayaan-2 module crash-landed on the moon's surface in September.

Sivan said the new propulsion module, lander and surface rover would cost about $35 million, with a significantly higher outlay for the launch itself.

He added that India had chosen four candidate astronauts to take part in the country's first manned mission into orbit, pledged to take place by mid-2022.

The four are to start training in Russia later this month. Up to three astronauts are to take part in the mission, which will be one of the landmark projects scheduled for the 75th anniversary of India's independence from British rule.

As the industry experts and various reports are highlighting a crunch of consumer spending due to the economic slowdown, especially in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) section, ecommerce platforms are moving in the opposite direction.

One such report by information, data and measurement firm Nielsen, released on December 19, states that one out of every two products sold on ecommerce platforms — Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and others — belonged to the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category.

FMCG consumer goods are products of daily needs that go off the shelf quickly due to high demand. These include non-durable household items such as packaged food, beverages, toiletries, over-the-counter drugs and other consumables.

The report highlights that the FMCG goods account for 56% of the total sales by the ecommerce platforms, in terms of volume. However, in terms of value, the FMCG products only make up for 11%, the report highlights. The uneven proportion of value and volume can be attributed to the low cast of these non-durable home essentials.

The report comes at a time when even the investors both Indian and foreign are not deterred by the said consumer good slowdown. Just last month, Sequoia Capital India and responsAbility invested in $17 Mn in Gurugram-based food and beverage maker Wingreens.

Talking to Inc42, a Sequoia spokesperson said, “For category creators and challenger brands in large markets, consumer adoption is quite significant if the product positioning and offering is truly differentiated. Such brands tend to be less affected by macro slowdown, especially at the growth stage.”

Wingreen cofounder Arjun Srivastava also clarified, “So far we are not seeing any consumer slowdown because we are in a space where we are continuously innovating. All our products are differentiated from other products in the market. Because of that, we are seeing that there continues to be a lot of interest in consumer uptake.”

The Fall Of FMCG

A IBEF report also states that the India FMCG sector is booming in India and is poised to become the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy. Another report techsciresearch states that the FMCG market is projected to grow at a 20.6% rate annually to reach an $103.7 Bn in market value by 2020.

However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have lowered India’s growth forecast due to the economic slowdown in the domestic and global markets. IMF estimates that the Indian economy will grow at 7% this year, going down from its earlier prediction of 7.3%. The ADB, too, has predicted a 7% growth rate for India this year.

Even the previous Neilson report had noted that the consumer demand, in terms of value, has decreased to 10 % in the second quarter of FY2020, versus 16.5% in July September 2018. The report also noted that the growth in terms of volume has slashed down to 6.2% from 13.4%.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) survey of 2017-18, consumer spending has dropped for the first time in four decades.

What Else Is The Top Seller For The Ecommerce Platforms?

On the other hand, the recent Nielsen also notes that mobile phones — both smartphones and feature phones — make up for 48% of the total sales on the ecommerce platforms, in terms of value. Smartphone sales are followed by fashion with 16% contribution.

The report also highlights that a large number of consumers are with holding their purchases in anticipation of the sale period. Ecommerce platforms recorded 84% sales during the Indian festive season sale, and only 15% in the non sale days, the report adds.

At least 17 people remain missing as 50 fires continue to rage across the state threatening the lives of those trapped in 24 isolated communities in East Gippsland.

Speaking in Bairnsdale on Thursday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he held serious fears for the 17 people missing and believes some of those unaccounted for may be stranded without access to power, or may have stayed in remote towns to defend their homes against the fires.

A caravan park in Mallacoota on Thursday morning. Credit:George Mills

“They may have been trying to defend their homes,’’ he said.

“That number may grow or indeed people may report to authorities. We do hold very significant fears for the welfare of anybody who is missing at this time.’’

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Tens of thousands of people ushered in 2020 in downtown Los Angeles, gathering at Grand Park for the city’s biggest free music and dance party.

The gates opened shortly after 8 p.m. for the massive set-up in front of City Hall, but sound and light checks have been happening all day for the 7th annual Grand Park and the Music Center’s New Year’s Eve L.A.

The event was billed as the city’s go-to central gathering place and it is the West Coast’s flagship New Year’s celebration complete with live music. But beyond the entertainment, the celebration featured more than 40 food trucks serving up tasty eats for a crowd expected to be about 50,000.

The main rule for the night? No alcohol was allowed.

“It’s a low-key event, a mellow crowd,” Paul Parkhurst, an attendee, said. “You don’t have to worry about the effects of people drinking and driving. I don’t have to worry about drinking and getting a ride back anywhere, so that’s why I like this event better.”

In the past Parkhurst has had to work the event, but said he was looking forward to enjoying it.

“I would say from the beginning, L.A. has really embraced this event,” Julia Diamond, Grand Park director, said. “In our very first year, we had 25,000 people who came, which was, I will say, a surprise for everyone. We’ve seen it grow year after year, so now we’re expecting this year about 50,000-plus, and what we’re saying is people coming back. They’re making this their New Year’s.”

For those still making their way down to the celebration, a reminder that liquids are not allowed, unless its a juice box for children.

The festivities were scheduled to last until 1 a.m.

A Texas judge has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in another court setback over the Infowars host.

Jones is being sued for defamation in Texas by the parents of a 6-year-old who was among the 20 children and six adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Jones used his show to promote falsehoods that the attack was a hoax. Judge Scott Jenkins ruled that Jones purposefully ignored previous orders to provide materials that would move along the lawsuit.

An attorney for Jones did not immediately comment Tuesday. Jenkins' orders were first reported by The Daily Beast.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 1 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday played down the privilege motion filed against him by Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao in the upper house of the Parliament.

Rao filed the motion against Vijayan after hearing that the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution moved by him against the Citizenship Amendment Act in its specially-called session on Tuesday.

Feigning ignorance of the motion, Vijayan told the media here after the weekly cabinet meeting, the Assembly has its own rights and privileges and these could not be violated.

"The Rajya Sabha functions as per rules. Similarly, the Assembly has special protection and it cannot be violated. Still, nothing could be ruled out since strange things are unfolding in the country," he said.

On Tuesday, the assembly saw both the state's traditional political rivals - the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front passing the resolution against the CAA with the lone BJP legislator O.Rajagopal voting against it.

To another query in the manner in which Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has reacted to the protests against CAA, Vijayan pointed out that such remarks need be deemed only his personal observations.

"Even the Central government is making an all-out bid to explain its stance on CAA," he added.

sg/vd

Instruction: Retrieve semantically similar text.


Question:
BODY FOUND OF MISSING CHILD

CHANDIGARH: Body of the 10-year-old son of a bhajan-singer from Shamli town of Uttar Pradesh was found in his father's burnt car at Panipat in Haryana in the wee hours of Wednesday.Increased police patrolling on New Year's Eve led to the arrest of the man who murdered the family of bhajan singer Ajay Pathak (42) at Shamli on late Monday night and escaped in his car along with the singer's son Bhagwat to Panipat, 40 km from Shamli.The murders came to light on Tuesday evening when neighbours and the victims' kin, suspected something amiss.The accused, Himanshu Saini , a member of the bhajan singer's group, was arrested from Sector 13/17 by Panipat cops. The accused was nabbed when he was trying to escape after setting on fire the compact SUV car of the bhajan singer with the body of latter's son Bhagwat on the rear seat. Police have sent the boy's charred body to PGIMS, Rohtak, for forensic post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death.It is learnt that on being arrested, Himanshu tried to mislead the police about the body and murders. Ajay Pathak owed Himanshu Rs 60,000, and when Ajay did not settle the account, the latter murdered Ajay, his wife Sneh Lata Pathak (36) and daughter Vasundhara Pathak (12) with sharp-edged weapons. A murder case was registered at Shamli."During interrogation, Himanshu confessed to killing Bhagwat. The body's position indicates that the victim's hands may have been tied. The post-mortem report will reveal if the boy was first murdered then burnt or was burnt alive in the car," an official of Panipat police said. Panipat cops have handed Himanshu over to Karamvir Singh, SHO of Adarsh Nagar police station, for further proceedings.Bhajan singer Ajay Pathak, his wife and daughter were killed with sword at their home in Shamli town of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday evening. However, the couple’s son was missing after the incident. The police had formed a team to search for the missing boy and found his body in the dickey of his father’s burnt car in Panipat on Wednesday.

Police said that the accused was arrested accidentally by Haryana Police while he was trying to dispose of the half-burnt body of the couple’s son who was missing since the sensational murders. (Representational Image) Police said that the accused was arrested accidentally by Haryana Police while he was trying to dispose of the half-burnt body of the couple’s son who was missing since the sensational murders. (Representational Image)

Two days after a singer couple and their minor daughter were found murdered at their Punjabi colony residence in Shamli, their 30-year-old disciple was arrested from Panipat in Haryana in this connection on Wednesday.

Police said that the accused, identified as Himanshu Saini, was arrested accidentally by Haryana Police while he was trying to dispose of the half-burnt body of the couple’s son Bhagwat (10) who was missing since the sensational murders.

“Himanshu is a disciple of victim Ajay Pathak (42) and used to perform with him for the last two-and-a-half years. During interrogation, he told the police that he had given Rs 60,000 to Ajay who was not only returning him the money, but also used to humiliate him in front of his family members whenever he asked for the sum. On Monday night, he stayed in their house and killed Ajay, his wife Sneha Pathak (36) and their daughter Vasundahra (14) with a sword, while he strangulated Bhagwat to death,” said Shamli Superintendent of Police Vineet Jaiswal.

“He wanted to take away the bodies in the couple’s car, but could not carry out his plan single-handedly. So, he just bundled Bhagwat’s body in the car and locked the house to give an impression that the family had left for Karnal in Haryana where Ajay was scheduled to perform at a bhajan sandhya Tuesday. He also took all the four mobile phones of the family members with himself,” the SP pointed out, adding Haryana Police had handed him over to them.

He was produced in a local court in Shamli, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody on Wednesday.

The police added that Himanshu was in dire need of money as he was unable to repay a loan of Rs 5 lakh from a bank, which served him a legal notice in this connection.

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Government education in California is a failure. After several years of Common Core, the results are in: “Their first action was to discover how proficient Stanislaus County children were in reading. They reviewed the California standardized test scores for third graders, an age where students transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” They found that only 32% were proficient, a number Tiwater called “abysmal” and far below the state average of 48%. Stanislaus County is 50% lower in reading scores than the rest of the State. But, the whole State of California is at 48%–a total, absolute failure. Who thinks it is not a crisis when less than 50% of our government students are not reading at grade level? Yet, the Democrats run legislature are making it worse by ending charter schools—and that is what they are doing, killing them with regulations and unions. California has so many crisis’ that it is hard to say which is more important. Yet the education of our children is being destroyed by politicians and unions—where is the public outcry? Why are the people in Stanislaus demanding an end to the failed policies? Parents need to speak up.

Only 32% of Stanislaus County third-graders read at grade level. How Stanreads! helps

By ChrisAnna Mink, Modesto Bee, 12/31/19

Like many great love stories, it started with coins in a fountain.

Only this time, the love is for reading, and the fountain is in the foyer at Stanislaus County Office of Education in downtown Modesto.

“It all started with Dee Dee Baker taking the coins from the fountain to donate to the library,” said Lisa Tiwater, SCOE’s assistant superintendent of instruction, while talking about StanReads!, a program to propel county children to read at grade level by third grade.

Baker has since retired, but about five years ago, she was the director of literacy and the SCOE liaison to the Stanislaus County Library.

When Baker took the coins to the library, she learned about the national campaign for grade level reading and was excited to have SCOE join the effort. SCOE joined forces with the Stanislaus Community Foundation.

From there, Stanislaus Reads emerged, which evolved into StanReads!, which is part of the five action teams that make up Stanislaus Cradle-to-Career Partnership.

Their first action was to discover how proficient Stanislaus County children were in reading. They reviewed the California standardized test scores for third graders, an age where students transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.”

They found that only 32% were proficient, a number Tiwater called “abysmal” and far below the state average of 48%.

StanReads! takes action

Research has shown that reading proficiency at the end of third grade is one of the strongest predictors of high school graduation, as well as success entering the workforce.

Megan Lowery, director of Cradle-to-Career at SCOE, said that though third grade reading is a classroom-based indicator, the group quickly realized that everything that happens in a child’s life, especially early on, impacts what happens in the classroom.

Poverty, lack of access to books and limited parental literacy are among many factors that contribute to low literacy among children, according to the Literacy Foundation.

StanReads! identified schools from eight county districts, including Capistrano Elementary School in Empire, to participate in a pilot program to assess reading obstacles among local kids and to test solutions.

Early actions included trying to curb school absenteeism, maximizing summer learning, understanding kindergarten readiness and getting more books into children’s hands.

Research shows that chronically absent kids in kindergarten and first grade are less likely to be capable readers in third grade and to graduate from high school.

“If they’re not there, we can’t teach them,” Tiwater said.

Chronic absenteeism — missing more than four weeks of the school year — affects about 10% of county pupils across all grades. StanReads! instituted community awareness campaigns about the importance of school attendance and reading to young children.

Meanwhile, over the summer, students lose at least one month of reading ability, called the summer slide. This can be mitigated if kids participate in enrichment activities, so StanReads! took inventory of the county summer programs.

School readiness means that children show up to kindergarten ready to learn, which led to formal assessments of kindergarteners and the start of the StanReady! action team.

“You can’t be an action team without some actions,” said Tiwater. “We have to balance talking and research with doing.”

Applying programs to pilot schools

She said StanReads! took multiple actions at the pilot schools, including the attendance campaign, the Imagination Library, afternoon reading clubs and providing schools with “high interest” books focused on topics more aligned to students’ interests.

One of their first steps was offering families enrollment into Imagination Library, a national nonprofit that promotes literacy. Once a month, children ages zero to 5 are mailed books at no cost to families. Participation is funded by the Stanislaus Community Foundation and other philanthropic groups, including the Modesto Rotary Club.

“The mailman brings them to us, so every day we check the mail to see if there’s more books,” said Forest Arnold, a second grader at Capistrano in Empire.

Forest and his rambunctious 5-year-old brother, Eric Von Hudson, were eager to talk about their favorite books, including “Violet the Pilot,” about a little girl who draws instructions to build and fly a plane.

Eric said his mom reads to him every day, and Forest proudly said, “I read myself.”

Capistrano Elementary became one of the pilot schools in 2016-17, the second year of StanReads!.

“They immediately offered me more books,” said Principal James Jensen. He harvests any resources that he can to get books for his students.

Nearly all Capistrano students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch, about two-thirds are Latino/Hispanic, and 1 in 5 are English learners.

About 40% of their students read at grade level, which is above the Stanislaus County average, but still below the state average. The county’s 32% is in line with Merced and Madera counties, but behind Alameda, Fresno and Sacramento.

Stanislaus County Library’s role

“Reading and literacy is what we do,” said Annie Snell, supervising librarian of youth services outreach and a facilitator for the StanReads! team.

She said parent engagement is one of the library’s concerted efforts with StanReads!, because some parents don’t know the importance of reading to their children. They also help families sign up for library cards.

The library opened “pop-up” libraries at locations where parents and kids visited, such as the county’s Women Infant and Children (WIC) office at Hackett Road.

They also helped place and stock Little Free Libraries filled with gently used books on each pilot schools’ campus, as well as other neighborhood locations. At the birdhouse-shaped structures, anyone can take a free book, and if they can, leave a book.

Lowery said that over the past four years, they’ve seen an increase of 12% of third graders reading at grade level, though they aren’t sure which actions were most effective.

StanReads! and Cradle-to-Career are trying to discover which actions are most valuable, and affordable, to scale up across the county.

Something seems to be working.

That was evident recently at the Capistrano school library, which was full of children enthralled with the story being read by the librarian.

“If the community can get behind anything related to StanReads!, it’s a plus,” said Principal Jensen. “Bring in books. Donate to schools. Volunteer to read to kids in school. We need to do everything we can to get books in the kids’ hands.”

Even if it’s simply tossing coins into a fountain.

Cradle-to-Career is hosting a Community Summit on March 13, 2020, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Modesto Centre Plaza.

For more information or to volunteer with the partnership, visit: https://www.stancoe.org/division/administrative-services/cradle-career

This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative.

Maharashtra Congress legislator Sangram Thopat on Wednesday condemned the alleged vandalism of Congress office by his supporters after he was not accorded the ministerial berth.

This office was destroyed days after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expanded his ministry by inducting 36 ministers.

"What has happened is wrong and condemnable. Whatever decision leadership arrived on I agreed to that and I will agree with it in future too," Thopat said. The purported incident took place on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

A former gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, Gen. Patrick Ademu Akpa has urged Nigerians to be positive about the new year.

Gen Akpa said 2020 “will favour the country and her people more than 2019″.

He stated this in a New Year message, signed by his media Aide, Pastor John Desmond, on Tuesday.

Akpa said: “No nation grows with the citizenry being negative about the progress of such a nation.”

He said Nigerians should see light at the end of the tunnel over the nation’s politics, economy, unity and development.

Akpa insisted that 2019 was not a bad year, when properly scrutinised.

He said: “Nigerians must be grateful to God for His goodness in 2019, as well as pray that the current year will be far better than the previous year.”

He enjoined Kogi people to join hands with the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello to continue to work for the good of Kogi state.

Austria's Conservatives led by Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday agreed to form a coalition government with the Greens after a final round of talks capping almost three months of negotiations.

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It will mark the first time the Green party has been in power, after Kurz's alliance with the far-right collapsed in a corruption scandal and triggered elections in September.

Kurz's People's Party (OeVP) and the Greens made gains in the election, bringing them together in unlikely negotiations given the 33-year-old's carefully groomed image as a hardliner on immigration.

"The OeVP and Greens have agreed on a government programme together," a Greens representative with knowledge of the negotiations, who declined to be named, told AFP.

An OeVP official confirmed the same to AFP. The two parties' leaders are to make a statement later Wednesday.

'Huge stretch'

Despite progress to bridge the significant gaps, observers said the new government would face challenges after Kurz's previous rule with the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) saw a raft of anti-immigration measures passed, sharply dividing Austrians.

"2020 as a political year of change" ran the main online headline of the Kurier daily earlier Wednesday.

Both the OeVP and the Greens will be hard-pressed to show they have not compromised too much on their key principals and campaign promises when they present the joint government programme, which is expected Thursday.

"From his (Kurz's) perspective, it's a huge stretch and it's also a danger that over time he might lose some of the voters he gained from the Freedom Party," analyst Thomas Hofer told AFP.

In the September polls, the OeVP managed to pick up disenchanted FPOe voters, getting 37.5 percent in total.

The Greens secured 13.9 percent of the vote, their best-ever result, due to the environment replacing immigration as top concern in the country of 8.8 million people.

Trend setter?

Hofer said other European countries, such as Germany, could also see Conservative-Green party coalitions in the future. Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Luxemburg already have Greens in government.

"Kurz is setting a certain trend maybe ahead of time, and this is certainly something also on the international stage that he would be able to sell," he said.

Hofer described Greens chief Werner Kogler, who is expected to be vice-chancellor, as a "pragmatist" who had stabilised the party.

The 58-year-old took on the leadership after the party lost all their parliamentary seats in a shock defeat in 2017, largely due to infighting and splits.

A congress of the party's almost 280 delegates must still endorse the coalition agreement, but they are expected to do so.

"It's a historical chance for them," Hofer said.

As junior coalition partner, the Greens would get four ministries, including an enlarged environment ministry that also comprises infrastructure, traffic, energy and technology, according to a party representative familiar with the negotiations.

The OeVP will maintain control of the rest, including the coveted interior ministry -- previously headed by a far-right official and embroiled in scandal -- and the finance portfolio.

Greens official Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic told the Standard daily in an interview that compromises are "part of democracy", and that the coalition partners would address challenges rather than "feign harmony and sweep difficult topics under the carpet".

The far-right FPOe -- previously riding a wave of populist sentiment seen across Europe -- was routed in the polls after the so-called "Ibiza-gate" graft scandal brought down their then-leader and vice-chancellor in May and caused the government to collapse.

(AFP)

2020 New Year’s Message from the Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of the Caribbean Community

People of the Caribbean Community, it is with a sense of immense pleasure, pride and humility that I greet you at the start of the new year, as the new Chairman of CARICOM.

Across our region, 2019 has brought more than its fair share of challenges, and indeed many of them, including the very daunting prospects of the climate crisis, are certain to follow us into this New Year.

But as we enter 2020, with no thought of defeat — we do so conscious that long before terms such as resilience and sustainable development were fashionable, we saw ourselves and we knew that we are a resilient people who for centuries have battled adversity of every kind, and we have always prevailed.

Our very history has been one of struggle but one of success!

It is against this backdrop that we can take a fresh look at the path we would wish to set for ourselves and our children, using a term that is no doubt familiar to us all.

It is my sincere wish that our approach to the advancement of our people in every country of Caribbean Community would be characterized by a level of clarity that is usually associated with 2020 vision.

For generations, the actions and the experiences of ordinary men and ordinary women of the Caribbean have left no doubt that they have always known what they have wanted for the inhabitants of these islands.

And we are no different today. In fact, many of us have demonstrated what true integration really means, in spite of the obstacles of bureaucracy that we sometimes confront in our leadership class as we go about our ordinary business.

But at the same time, we recognise that the regional integration movement is very much a relay race. Sometimes we are hard on ourselves, expecting to achieve overnight that which requires patience and careful nurturing over generations.

Our vision to better the lot of our people has remained constant — from the very early days of the Montego Bay Conference in 1947 on Closer Association of the British West Indian Colonies, to the West Indian Fédération of 1958 to 1962 most ably led by the founder of my own political party, the Right Excellent Sir Grantley Adams.

From the establishment of CARIFTA on December 15, 1965 – ten weeks after I was born – at Dickenson Bay in Antigua, to its transformation into the Caribbean Community, the institution we now know, the document signed on July 4, but coming into force on Emancipation Day, August 1, 1973 at Chaguaramas in Trinidad, or to the 1989 Grand Anse Declaration in Grenada that signaled our determination to remove the disadvantages of size and geography from our national development through the commitment to establish the Single Market and Single Economy.

Our process has therefore been one that has moved from generation to generation of committed Caribbean people, to the building of a regional integration movement that will allow us always to work to provide the best lives possible for our people.

Lest we be influenced by those who would only see a half empty glass, rather than one that is half full, may I remind us all that the European integration movement started on April 16, 1948 so as we enter the third decade of the 21st century they too are still working to perfect that union, despite having far more resources than we have ever had in the Caribbean.

I pray, therefore, that 2020 will strengthen us to run our leg of this regional integration relay race with confidence.

I pray that as leaders of the Caribbean Community we will work to give our people renewed confidence and inspiration to help us run this leg, while staying focused on achieving the next phase of critical progress.

And what is that next phase? We are duty bound to continue this journey across the Community whether as a collective of the whole or in twos and threes where we are gathered in a way that will:

Remove the obstacles to passport-free movement between our nations; Make it easier for Caribbean people to go and work where there are opportunities in the Community in a way that is hassle-free in the same way that we have done it for the movement of capital. In keeping with our own Errol Barrow’s vision, the reality of our people must not only be a lived reality but also a legal reality. The Caribbean Community must lead the world in shaping an environment within which migrants among us can live and work with dignity. After all, our modern settlement in the Caribbean has been nothing but that of a community of migrants; Truly advance the process of a single domestic space for transport and communications in the region by working to provide more affordable and reliable air and sea links between our countries and also to establish a single domestic rate for telecommunications and phone calls within CARICOM; Work with the private sector and the labour movement to provide further opportunities beyond transport and communications mentioned above, to food security, to opportunities in the blue economy or renewable energy and ICT for our people – opportunities for investment and for employment; Enable us as we face the climate crisis, to pool the funds of the region in order to be able to finance our own development trajectory for sustainable development so that we may adapt to the new realities of the climate crisis. This will require us coming up with innovative instruments that will better allow us to access the capital that we are not now accessing at a global level. Let us remember that those who help themselves will always be helped by others but we must help ourselves first by pooling our own resources.

My message, in essence, is that 2020 can and must provide the platform for a positive spirit of hope and optimism and a fierce determination to come together as Caribbean people to purposefully carry forward the transformation of our region into a space that truly values, nurtures, and provides concrete opportunities for every Caribbean man, woman and child to run our leg of this relay.

But our pathway toward a better life for our people will not open up the opportunities we seek if we focus only on ourselves and our region. While we look ahead, we must do so fully cognizant of the advances we are making in claiming our Atlantic destiny as a region as we reach out to our brothers and sisters on the African continent.

We have already started discussions at the highest levels on the African continent with people with whom many of us share a common ancestry and history and who, like us, recognize the imperative of mutual cooperation as we go into 2020.

CARICOM has accepted the offer of shared office space from the Government of Kenya in Nairobi. We need to open it urgently and advance our interests in the city that is indeed the home of the UN Environmental Programme and UN Habitat both of which deal with issues that are vital to our own development in the Caribbean Community.

Within the next six months, we will also work towards jointly hosting the first ever African Union-CARICOM Summit. We need to resolve as a region that we will not leave that gathering without laying the foundation for tangible progress in areas of direct air and sea access across the Atlantic, greater trade in goods and services, and more cultural exchanges between our regions.

In closing, I commend to people across our region the initiative we have embraced in Barbados. We have designated 2020 as the year in which we will work together to perfect our finer vision for all Barbadians, regardless of where in the world we live. We can only become better as Caribbean people if we hold to the maxim — Dare to dream; and always be determined to deliver.

But as we seek to use this year 2020 to perfect a finer vision for our island in Barbados, as we gather parish by parish, I want now to ask each of us as Caribbean people to do the same for where we want to go and who we want to be as Caribbean people for 2020 must be where we can perfect that fine vision.

All that is left for me to do is to wish you, each and every one, a blessed 2020 and to a greater and more powerful Caribbean Community!

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Question:
For three decades, paleontologists the world over have been split over a provocative finding: did a dwarf species of Tyrannosaurus rex really once exist?

In 1988, paleontologist Robert Bakker and his colleagues at the Cleveland (Ohio) Museum of Natural History reclassified a specimen first discovered in 1942 and displayed at the museum.

It was, they said, the first known member of a small new species they baptized as the Nanotyrannus.

Then, in 2001, another team discovered the nearly complete skeleton of a small Tyrannosaurus near the town of Ekalaka in Montana, in the rich and intensively studied fossil formation known as Hell Creek.

They named the creature -- barely bigger than a draft horse -- Jane and soon classified it as a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex.

But a minority of specialists continued to insist that it was part of the newly classified Nanotyrannus species. They pointed to the morphology of its skull and bones, which they said differed from T-rex adults.

In a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, researchers led by Holly Woodward of Oklahoma State University performed a microscopic analysis on samples from the interior of Jane's tibia and femur bones, as well as from a less complete set of bones from an animal dubbed Petey.

This technique, known as paleohistology, confirmed that the two were immature individuals -- not adults, the scientists said.

By extension, the study's authors said, the existence of the Nanotyrannus seems very unlikely.

"The really cool thing about fossil bones is that a whole bone fossilizes even down to the microscopic size," Woodward told AFP.

"We can infer growth rate, age (and) maturity level."

The researchers took extremely fine slices from the bone samples -- so thin that light could pass through them -- and then studied them under powerful microscopes.

The size of the blood vessel openings revealed that the two dinosaurs were still in a phase of rapid growth at the time of death. Had they been adults, this vascularization would have been less prominent.

The team was also able to count the growth rings in each animal's bones, much as one can do to determine the age of a tree: 13 years for Jane, and 15 for Petey.

The study adds to scientists' still limited knowledge of the 20-year period between a dinosaur's hatching and its adulthood.

Jane, who weighed only one ton, died before reaching the phase of exponentially rapid growth that normally would have brought her to an adult weight of just under 10 tons.

"Everyone loves T-rex, but we don't really know much about how it grew up," Woodward said. "It's probably the most famous dinosaur in the world, and we mostly just have really large skeletons of it."

That is partly due to the obsession of collectors and the public with finding and displaying the most enormous T-rex skeletons possible -- unearthed sometimes to the detriment of smaller specimens.

Unfortunately, Woodward said, only five to seven fossils of young T-rex dinosaurs are known to exist in the world, and some of those are in private collections not accessible to researchers.

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The dinosaur formerly known as Nanotyrannus Friedrich Saurer/Alamy

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one. Two controversial dinosaur skeletons have been held up as evidence that Tyrannosaurus rex shared its environment with a second, tiny species of tyrannosaur. Now, a detailed study of the fossilised leg bones suggests the diminutive dinos are really just teenage T. rexes.

The two skeletons, one nearly complete, were discovered in the early 2000s in rocks known as the Hell Creek Formation, which spans Montana, Wyoming and North and South Dakota. The formation also yielded some of the first T. rex bones, early in the 20th century.

The more complete specimen is nicknamed Jane, and the other is nicknamed Petey. Along with one other small skull found in 1942, they have been used to argue for a new type of dinosaur called Nanotyrannus, which was like a T. rex but smaller.

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As researchers performed more detailed analysis of the specimens, it seemed more and more likely that the small predators were simply young T. rexes, but there was still some disagreement. The newest analysis by Holly Woodward at Oklahoma State University and her colleagues may be the final nail in the coffin of Nanotyrannus.

Read more: T. rex evolved into a monster predator by dumbing down its brain

All modern vertebrates have a period every year where bone growth briefly pauses. We don’t know exactly why this happens, but it leaves a circle in every bone that shows when the growth stopped, Woodward says. “We can just count the rings like with a tree to find the dinosaur’s age.”

Woodward and her team counted the rings in Jane and Petey’s femurs and tibias. They found that Jane was probably around 13 years old and Petey about 15 when they died. Other fossils such as Sue, one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons we’ve found, have shown that T. rexes lived to around 30, so that makes Jane and Petey adolescents. Because they are so young, there is no need to invoke a whole new species to explain their small size.

“We know the T. rex as this giant king of dinosaurs,” says Woodward. “But it didn’t start that way, and we didn’t know much about how it got from baby T. rex-sized… to Sue-sized.”

At a little more than half Sue’s 12.3-metre body length, these young dinos are starting to fill in that gap.

Journal reference: Science Advances, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax6250

As access to banking services through digital channels continues to grow, so does the need to protect consumers against the prevalence of online banking fraud.

Due to the prevalence of banking scams, we urge consumers to be more vigilant and familiarise themselves with the different types of online banking fraud.

The following are the latest online banking scams consumers should be wary of:

Flight purchase debit scams

You will receive an SMS informing you of a flight purchase debited to your account.

Fraudsters will ask you to select a link in the SMS to revise the transaction.

When you select the link, you will be redirected to a fake bank website.

You are then redirected to an ‘Update and Confirm Details’ screen requesting more information to be verified.

The fraudsters will now be in a position to access your banking profile.

Social media scams

Beware of fraudsters pretending to represent the bank you use on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp or any other social media platform.

The bank will never ask for your credit or cheque card, account number, online banking login details or password or One Time Pin (OTP) on social media platforms.

The official accounts also display a blue tick indicating they are verified.

Change of banking details scam

You will receive an email that allegedly comes from one of your suppliers asking you to update your banking details.

Beware of this, even if it is on the supplier’s letterhead.

Contact your supplier on the number you already have for them and not the one on the fraudulent letter.

Speak to someone you know at the supplier to confirm the change in banking details.

Copy of payment notification scam

You will receive an email requesting you to open a copy of your payment notification.

Fraudsters will prompt you to login via the email attachment.

When you open the attachment in the email, you will be redirected to a fake bank website.

In an attempt to steal your banking details you will be requested to login.

As soon as you enter your login details on the screen, you are redirected to a successfully logged out screen.

The fraudsters will now be in a position to access your banking profile.

419 scams

This is communication by email to a recipient making an offer that would result in a large payoff for the recipient.

The details vary and large amounts of money are usually involved.

The victims’ banking details as well as sums of money are said to be required in advance in order to facilitate the payment of the funds.

Essentially, the promised money transfer never happens and the fraudsters may use the victims’ banking details to withdraw money for themselves.

Phishing

Communication seemingly from the bank or other companies that gets you to disclose personal information such as your ID number, address, account number, username, login details, password and PIN.

This information can also be used to gain unauthorised access to your banking account online.

OTP email fraud

Using various methods of phishing, criminals also try to get access to your email accounts, commonly Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

They produce fake login sites that look like Gmail or Yahoo.

Once they have your email username and password, they have access to your emails (statements, personal communications) and this helps a criminal build a social profile of you.

Criminals can also intercept OTPs that are sent to emails once they have access to your email account.

OTP Sim swap fraud

Once criminals are in possession of your username and password, they can easily access your accounts on online banking.

They can also contact your service provider to do a Sim swap, which basically means they hijack your sim and have access to your SMS.

This also gives them access to your OTP.

Remember, the bank will never ask for your username, password or Pin in an email, SMS, social media or phone call.

Never select a link to our website that was sent via email. Always type in the bank’s web address.

READ MORE: Post Office of parcel delivery scam

Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to [email protected] or phone us on 083 625 4114.

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We happily welcome the clear vision of 2020, embracing this New Year for all; the potential and promise it holds and we give God thanks for sparing our lives to see yet another decade. We remember those who left us last year, like our former Prime Minister Edward Seaga and many other of our loved ones, heroes and benefactors.

We give God thanks for their lives and stand on their contribution to overcome the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities of the New Year.

It pains my heart that many of our brothers and sisters, and our children were deprived of seeing 2020 due to violence. This is a social epidemic and requires national consensus around the use of emergency powers to bring the disease under control.

My Government is committed to bringing the murder rate down. The target set in the Social Partnership approximates the regional average of 16 murders per hundred thousand of population within the near term.

Unfortunately, there are those among us that appear to accept the high level of crime and violence as normal. Political disunity and gamesmanship over crime fighting and national security policy have real effects on our lives. Lack of support from the Opposition resulted in a break in the SOEs for the first four months of 2019, and an unusual spike in homicides in November, which meant that we ended 2019 approximately 3.4% higher in homicides than 2018 when we saw a record decline of 22%.

While the SOEs have been very effective when and where we have been able to use them, we have used the space they create to build the capacity of our National Security apparatus to respond to the current level of crime and violence in the society. This Fiscal Year will see, the largest allocation of JA$5.28 Billion dollars to equip the police force with cutting-edge technology to enhance their ability to detect, record, respond and prevent crimes in the society. This year, the JCF will receive the first set of purpose-built police cars fitted with tracking devices and onboard computers. The JCF’s radio and communication system is being improved, the long talked about electronic station diary will start implementation, and police stations right across Jamaica are being refurbished, or built a new.

Several administrative and operational improvements are being undertaken internally, greater emphasis and resources are being targeted at the investigative and intelligence capacity of the Force. While these transformational actions are not yet mature, already we are seeing the impact on the number and quality of cases being brought before the court to secure convictions. The police have over 13 major gang cases in various stages to come before the courts. Using the space created by the SOEs, the JCF and MOCA continue the long, hard and tedious work of intelligence gathering and investigations as they build cases and make arrests using regular police powers and conventional methods.

Your Government recognizes the importance of social intervention in breaking the cycle of violence and crime, particularly at the community level and we intend to spend significantly on intervening in some of the social conditions underpinning crime and violence. After more than 20 years of experience with social intervention programmes, the lesson learnt is that such interventions have to occur in parallel and coordinated with security intervention. The Zones of Special Operations were designed to provide a security environment within which social intervention could be maximized. The Mount Salem and Denham Town pilot zones have been a success and this year we will have resources in place to declare other areas as Zones of Special Operations. Ultimately, we will take back Jamaica from the criminals, community by community.

Jamaica’s high homicide rate did not happen overnight. In the decade of the 80s; 4,870 murders were committed in Jamaica, by the decade of the 90s this increased to 7,621 murders, and by decade of the 2000s, even with the formation of various special squads and units, murders skyrocketed to 13,418. This past decade, 2010 to 2019 has seen a reduction in murders to 12,698.

The level of crime we are now experiencing is over and above the capacity of our existing security apparatus to manage. While the crime and murder numbers have grown over the past 4 decades:

* successive governments have not increased the national security budget apace,

* or kept abreast with technology,

* or increased the number of investigators and other critical capabilities commensurately,

* or effectively controlled corrupt activity in the force.

It is only in this last decade that any serious policy and legislative reforms have been undertaken and certainly within this term that serious budgetary, manpower and technological upgrades have been made. All Jamaicans should take hope that with sound policy, programmes and plans we can reduce murders, but it will take a long-term concerted and united commitment to stick with the plan.

I am confident in our plan to secure Jamaica. For the first time Jamaica is engaged in building a National Security architecture fit for the times, that will deal with domestic threats, but will also deal effectively with our air and maritime space and borders, in addition to securing our cyber domain which is becoming more important as the world becomes digital. All of this cannot be done overnight or even in two years, it takes a year and a half to procure equipment, at least two years in some cases to draft and pass legislation, several years to train up a seasoned investigator and other skilled law enforcement operators. Much of this is now being done behind the scenes, and we will be intensifying our efforts to bring these reforms and investments more quickly to fruition to save more lives.

The disorder on our roads and in public spaces is now a national concern. Billions have been invested in improving our road infrastructure, which will improve connectivity, efficiency and comfort, but some among us are determined to breach all the rules of the road, disregard other road users and purvey carnage and chaos on our streets. Aside from a general socio-emotional improvement in our respect for law and order which comes from our education system and how we bring up our children, increasing the detection of violations, increasing enforcement, and securing swift convictions through the courts must be the area of focus for government policy.

The JCF has already established the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch which is still in its infancy but has been impactful. To complement their work, the government has decided to invest heavily in traffic management and traffic violation detection technology, and this year the traffic ticketing system and the enabling regulations for the new Road Traffic Act should be complete. Many more traffic offenders will be caught and ticketed and there will be no more amnesty for the foreseeable future!

Ultimately however, enforcement and technology have limits; whether in crime fighting or traffic enforcement. Our lasting peace and abiding order depend on how responsibly we act individually and as a people. We will never be able to have cameras and traffic police on every road to arrest every driver who decides to overtake a line of traffic in rush hour or speed dangerously on local road.

However, if you decide to slow down and drive according to the rules of the road and wear your helmet, we can bring down the crashes for 2020, the life you save could be your own! We will never know where all the illegal guns are hidden, but someone knows and is afraid to speak. One day those guns could turn on you or your loved ones. Every Jamaican has a personal responsibility to obey the law, behave in an orderly manner and share information about the guns and criminals with the appropriate authorities or call Crime Stop. This can help to bring down the homicide rate, again the life you save could be your own.

Like our security infrastructure, there have been many decades of under investment in our health infrastructure. I have toured some of our hospitals and clinics and seen first-hand the discomfort of patients and the strain on staff, particularly when there is an upsurge in illnesses as is the case with dengue.

The government is now steadily increasing investments in our health infrastructure to better serve patients with over $10B of investments planned for health facilities and over $3B dedicated to rebuilding the Cornwall Regional Hospital. We have spent approximately $2B on dengue control through environmental clean-up programmes in communities, and various public health interventions including purchasing 40 new pickups which will be deployed island-wide to conduct more regular fogging. However, like security, our health requires our personal responsibility and action.

Dengue is transmitted by a mosquito that breeds in our domestic surroundings. While the government has increased the collection of bulky waste that breeds the mosquito, only you can check the flowers vase to see if it has mosquito larvae in it. Only you can bore holes in the containers you discard around your house, the government cannot come inside you house everyday to see to it that water you store is covered.

We can give you the information but you have to act and take responsibility. In 2020, I encourage all Jamaicans to take personal responsibility for your health and security and fulfil your role as good citizens by cooperating with the authorities to eradicate the pests that threaten your lives. Let us know if you have breeding site near your home, allow the public health workers to fog your community, don’t stone them, likewise tell us where the guns are, tell us what you know about the criminals and together we will make Jamaica safe, secure and healthy.

Many great things happened in 2019, which gives me great hope for 2020. Let me see how many I can cover in the remaining few minutes:

Finance

Lowest Unemployment rate in the history of Jamaica (7.8%)

Longest period of Consecutive Growth in our History (19 quarters)

Record fall in our Debt to GDP ratio (93%)

Record low inflation

Introduced Special Procurement Incentives for medium and small enterprises

Removed the Minimum Business Tax

Reduced Transfer Tax from 5 to 2 percent

1.5 million Tax break for all workers

Successfully completed IMF Programme

Health

Better Cancer care through new radiation facilities

Reduction in waiting times at DrugServe pharmacies

Security

New Helicopters

New maritime patrol aircraft for the JDF

New Radar System

Doubling of the National Security Budget

You can now renew your passport online

New motor cycles for the police

Major investments in forensics and DNA

Tourism

Record tourism arrivals (approximately 4.5 million)

Record US$3.8 billion in tourism earnings

Launch of the Tourism Workers Pension Fund

Transport

Launched the Drive Safe app

Commissioning of two new air traffic Control Towers

Implemented WiFi on buses

Completed the Pilot of LNG buses

Infrastructure

A record over 400 roads resurfaced and rehabilitated

Mandela Highway, Marcus Garvey Drive, Ferris to MackField, Barbican, Hagley Park, Constant Spring Road and Three Miles Roads – all completed

Junction Road; South Camp Road being repaired

South Coast Highway Improvement from Harbour View to Port Antonio and extension of the East West Highway from May Pen to Williamsfield.

Over 12 Major Bridges repaired or currently under construction

Morant Bay Town Centre underway

Water

Over 50 water facilities rehabilitated islandwide

Major upgrades and replacements of water and sewer mains within the corporate area

Reduced NWC water losses from over 60% to about 40% in the Corporate Area

A record 800 million dollars investment in rural water which

brought water to thousands of Jamaicans who never had it in parishes including Clarendon, St Elizabeth and St. Mary

Housing

A record over 27,000 new housing starts between the NHT and the HAJ

Local Government

16 new Fire units

43 new Garbage Trucks

Successfully completed the tyre removal pilot project from Riverton City and will shortly roll out the full project

Paid off the $9 billion dollar streetlights debt to JPS

Science and Technology

Free WiFi Hotspots across Major Towns

Wigton IPO – over 30,000 Jamaicans participated

Commissioned the largest solar plant in the Caribbean

New 194 Mega Watt JPS LNG plant in Old Harbour now commissioned

Environment

Banned single use Plastic bags

We have started planting 3 million trees

This month, we will be banning the use of styrofoam

Jamaica is a leader in the global fight against climate change

7% of Jamaica to be protected as part of the Cockpit Country

Education

Improved School Feeding from 3 to 5 days

Comprehensively increased the suite of benefits under PATH Increased Maintainance Grant for secondary level schools

269 school canteens upgraded

Successful launch of PEP

Certified over 100 early childhood institutions

Labour and Social Security

Increased Minimum Wage

Increase NIS Benefits to Pensioners

Significant increase in overseas employment figures.

Culture, Gender and Entertainment

3 Shelters being prepared for abused women

Sexual Harassment Bill Tabled

First Entertainment Zone being renovated

Reggae Inscribed on the UNESCO intangible Cultural Heritage List for Humanity

Blue and John Crow Mountains now World Heritage Sites

Port

Expansion of the Port of Kingston

New Cruise Shipping Terminal at Port Royal and the

Redevelopment of Port Royal has begun

Youth Engagement

Merger of HEART Trust, JFLL, NYS and the Apprenticeship Board to create a comprehensive and effective human capital development agency, the HEART Trust National Service and Training Agency.

Over 25,000 young people trained through HOPE

Over 3,000 trained through Jamaica National Service Corps under the JDF

And you get the picture…

So much done and so much more to do in 2020. ….

Jamaicans at home and abroad A Happy and Prosperous New Year

Photograph Lyrics

Look at this photograph

Every time I do, it makes me laugh

How did our eyes get so red?

And what the hell is on Joey's head?

And this is where I grew up

I think the present owner fixed it up

I never knew we ever went without

The second floor is hard for sneaking out

And this is where I went to school

Most of the time had better things to do

Criminal record says I broke in twice

I must've done it half a dozen times

I wonder if it's too late

Should I go back and try to graduate?

Life's better now than it was back then

If I was them, I wouldn't let me in

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, God, I, I

[Chorus]

Every memory of looking out the back door

I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

Every memory of walking out the front door

I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

(Goodbye)

[Verse 2]

Remember the old arcade?

Blew every dollar that we ever made

The cops hated us hangin' out

They say somebody went and burned it down

We used to listen to the radio

And sing along with every song we know

We said someday we'd find out how it feels

To sing to more than just the steering wheel

Kim's the first girl I kissed

I was so nervous that I nearly missed

She's had a couple of kids since then

I haven't seen her since God knows when

[Verse 1]Look at this photographEvery time I do, it makes me laughAnd what the hell is on Joey's head?And this is where I grew upI think the present owner fixed it upI never knew we ever went withoutThe second floor is hard for sneaking outAnd this is where I went to schoolMost of the time had better things to doCriminal record says I broke in twiceI must've done it half a dozen timesI wonder if it's too lateShould I go back and try to graduate?Life's better now than it was back thenIf I was them, I wouldn't let me in[Pre-Chorus]Oh, oh, ohOh, God, I, I[Chorus]Every memory of looking out the back doorI had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floorIt's hard to say it, time to say itGoodbye, goodbyeEvery memory of walking out the front doorI found the photo of the friend that I was looking forIt's hard to say it, time to say itGoodbye, goodbye(Goodbye)[Verse 2]Remember the old arcade?Blew every dollar that we ever madeThe cops hated us hangin' outThey say somebody went and burned it downWe used to listen to the radioAnd sing along with every song we knowWe said someday we'd find out how it feelsTo sing to more than just the steering wheelKim's the first girl I kissedI was so nervous that I nearly missedShe's had a couple of kids since thenI haven't seen her since God knows when

[Pre-Chorus]

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, God, I, I

[Chorus]

Every memory of looking out the back door

I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

Every memory of walking out the front door

I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

[Bridge]

I miss that town

I miss their faces

You can't erase

You can't replace it

I miss it now

I can't believe it

So hard to stay

Too hard to leave it

If I could relive those days

I know the one thing that would never change

[Chorus]

Every memory of looking out the back door

I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

Every memory of walking out the front door

I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for

It's hard to say it, time to say it

Goodbye, goodbye

[Outro]

Look at this photograph

Every time I do, it makes me laugh

Every time I do, it makes me

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A suspected serial killer will soon return to Clark County, Washington, to be charged with the murder of a teen found dead in the 1970s.

KOIN-TV reports Warren Forrest has been behind bars since 1978, serving a life sentence for his conviction in the 1974 murder of Krista Kay Blake.

But he’s suspected of abducting and killing a total of seven women and girls on both sides of the Columbia River. One of those girls was Martha Morrison.

Prosecutors in Clark County recently issued a first-degree murder warrant against Forrest for Morrison’s killing.

Detectives believe Forrest’s first victim was Jamie Rochelle Grissim. She disappeared after going to school in 1971 and has never been found; however, her school ID turned up along remote Doe Valley Road in Clark County.

Hunters found the bodies of Carol Valenzuela and Morrison nearby in 1974.

In an unexpected discovery revealed in 2017, Morrison’s DNA was found on a dart gun that Forrest admitted to using to attack another woman.

Forrest has never admitted to other killings or if he knows where Grissim’s body is hidden. But Grissim’s sister Starr Lara hopes he can now be convinced to reveal what happened to Grissim while being prosecuted for Morrison’s murder.

Forrest is expected to be transferred from the state penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington, to appear in Clark County court sometime next week.

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Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.

There are Khans, Kapoors and the Kumars in Bollywood and then they’re also actors in this industry who have the same impact at the box-office who are called the rising superstars. Of late, Bollywood has seen the rise of many fine actors reaching the pedestal and making a mark for themselves.

These actors don’t need a big budget project or a big banner to back them, all they want is a great concept and they get their acting chops on the table. Moreover, these following actors have made a mark for themselves in such a short time that the audiences are amazed by them and they can’t get enough of them.

- Sponsored -

Here is a list of 5 actors that are totally in demand at the movies right now and rightfully so.

Kartik Aaryan

With absolute no connection to Bollywood, a complete outsider today reigns at the box-office like no one’s business. Kartik Aaryan had a great year in 2019 with two back to back hits with Luka Chuppi and Pati Patni Aur Woh. The actor had both his releases hitting the bull’s eye and raking in the moolah. Kartik Aaryan has proved himself in the last two years that he’s here to stay. He has earned a wide reach amidst the audience and he’s masses favourite. Kartik Aaryan is easily the massiest actor in tinsel town. Right from his dance steps to his hairstyle, everything is trending about him on social media. This actor is for the masses and by the masses, we surely want more of him!

Ayushmann Khurrana

Just the way a scientist keeps experimenting something new in his lab, Ayushmann Khurrana does the same with his roles every Friday. The actor has done some spectrum of characters in Bollywood and each one is completely different from the other. This year he had Article 15, Bala and Dreamgirl, three releases and all three different from others and three bonafide superhits. Ayushmann Khurrana has made not just our industry but the entire nation realize that content is King and if the right concept is narrated the right way, you surely have a winning lottery ticket in your hand. His bag is full of exciting offers and we’re curious about those big-screen treats.

Vicky Kaushal

Vicky Kaushal in his surprising act in Uri The Surgical Strike, made everyone sit back and take him seriously as an actor. Last year his act as Kamlesh in Sanju showed a different side of him as an artist and this year with Uri, it was a wake-up call for the filmmakers that he can carry a film on his shoulders and do a great job at it. Vicky Kaushal moreover enjoys supreme love and affection among the female audience. After all the Mills & Boons’ description of tall, dark and handsome is no just a myth.

Now, this actor is par excellence. Ranveer Singh has reinvented himself with each of his films. If he can play a warrior king, he can also transform into a street rapper. This actor has given a tough competition to his contemporaries and is not tired of giving great performances back-to-back. Off-screen, his love story is rocking and on-screen he’s making us fall in love with his movies and his rules.

If you have someone dancing alongside Hrithik Roshan and it’s difficult to keep your attention on Hrithik, then you surely have a superstar in the making. Tiger Shroff is one actor who times and again shows the industry and the audience, that he may fall but he rises 10 times higher. This year with his blockbuster release War, Tiger Shroff wasn’t just all about brawn and dance, he also got those acting chops to make a mark alongside Tiger Shroff. This young actor has proved his mettle several times and we are quite impressed.

Till then you guys stay tuned to this space for more updates, news, and gossip.

Also Read: List of upcoming Bollywood movies 2020

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