NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged the Congress and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) to join hands with the AAP in Haryana to defeat the BJP in Lok Sabha elections in the state. In a tweet in Hindi on Wednesday, Kejriwal said: “Desh ke log Amit Shah aur Modi ji ki jodi ko harana chahatey hain. Agar Haryana mein JJP, AAP aur Congress saath ladtey hain toh Haryana ki dasson seaton par BJP haregi. Rahul Gandhi is par vichar karein.” (People want to defeat Amit Shah and Modi. If the Congress, JJP and AAP contest in Haryana jointly, the BJP will lose on all 10 seats in Haryana. Rahul Gandhi should think about it). Also Read – Bangla Sahib Gurudwara bans use of all types of plastic itemsThe AAP, which does not have a strong base in Haryana, is trying to make inroads in the state. The JJP, which was formed in December after a split in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), performed well in the Jind assembly seat by-election last month. The AAP had supported the JJP candidate then. After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted about coming to power in Haryana by defeating the BJP, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday replied to him, saying “Dil behlane ke liye, Ghalib, yeh khayal acha hai”. “Kejriwal is free to think whatever he wants but the ground reality is different from his imagination. Also Read – After eight years, businessman arrested for kidnap & murderOur countrymen knew the ground reality and they will vote for the BJP again,” he told the media here. Kejriwal had tweeted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) should have come together to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana. Khattar had come to Rohtak to meet with party workers and prepare for the upcoming general elections. The BJP won seven Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 parliamentary elections. The INLD won two seats and the Congress bagged on seat. Haryana has a BJP government since October 2014 led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Haryana will go to polls in the sixth phase on May 12. We have two months time for preparation before the polls. We expect an impressive show in Haryana and better our position from last time, Khattar said. read more

France strongly backs the present Sri Lankan Government’s approach in the areas of reconciliation, good governance and human rights, said French Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Jean Marin Schuh.In an interview with The Hindu, Schuh said: “We are clearly in favour of the programme of this government regarding reconciliation, good governance and human rights. This is why we have decided to upgrade our ties with Sri Lanka.” He added that French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault had conveyed this to his Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera during the latter’s visit to Paris early this month. Dismissing the argument that Western countries were not helping the present government in the area of infrastructure development, he pointed out that two major French companies, Veolia and Suez, had signed two contracts last week of €150 million each for water supply projects. He added that the AFD, the French Agency for Development, will soon sign a €50 million agreement for an urban development project in Anuradhapura, an ancient city. (Colombo Gazette) Schuh also spoke about steps taken by the current government to bring about reconciliation and said “they are there not just in paper but also on the ground”. He referred to the latest move to establish the Office on Missing Persons. read more

MONACA, Pa. — The Latest on President Donald Trump and the economy (all times local):2:25 p.m.President Donald Trump is telling workers at Shell’s soon-to-be completed Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex that the largest investment in the state’s history would have never happened without me and us.”That’s despite the fact that Shell announced its plans to build the complex in 2012, when President Barack Obama was in office.Trump is speaking in Monaca to highlighting his support for manufacturing as he tries to hold support in the Rust Belt towns that helped him win in 2016,The plant is part of a growing effort to capitalize on western Pennsylvania’s natural gas deposits by turning gas into plasticsBut Trump told reporters earlier that he’s not worried about producing more plastics in the U.S.He says, “Plastics are fine” and the problem is what’s “floating across the ocean from other places, including China.”__12:29 a.m.President Donald Trump is showcasing the growing effort to capitalize on western Pennsylvania’s natural gas deposits by turning gas into plastics.Trump is also trying to hold onto the manufacturing towns that helped him win the White House in 2016.Trump will travel to Monaca, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday to tour Shell’s soon-to-be completed Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex. The facility is being built in an area hungry for investment and will convert ethane to approximately 1.6 million tons of polyethylene a year.The trip is Trump’s latest effort to highlight the burning of dirty fossil fuels in defiance of increasingly urgent warnings on climate change and an embrace of plastics at a time when the world is increasingly alarmed over its ubiquity and impact.The Associated Press read more

James T. Morris is Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Humanitarian Envoy for southern Africa and also the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). Food insecurity has been heightened this year in Zambia after three years of unfavourable conditions.In addition, the country has an adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of nearly 17 per cent, with nearly a million orphaned children – roughly 10 per cent of the population. Further compounding the crisis, Government capacity to deal with these problems has weakened.Before embarking on the tour, Mr. Morris stressed that efforts to deal with this “triple threat” – of food insecurity, HIV/AIDS and weakened Government capacity – must not fail.Mr. Morris leaves Zambia tomorrow to attend a review conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on HIV/AIDS that is also expected to draw the chiefs of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Ann Veneman, and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Peter Piot.He will then spend 26 and 27 May in Malawi, and 29 and 30 May in Botswana. After returning to Johannesburg for a donors’ meeting on 31 May, he will end his tour in Zimbabwe, arriving there 1 June. read more

Mr. Annan, who on Monday received a report from his Special Envoy for the Comprehensive Review of Kosovo, Ambassador Kai Eide of Norway, told reporters in Bern he would inform the Security Council today of his decision.Stressing the need to begin the discussions, the Secretary-General said he would appoint a special envoy to direct the talks.During his official visit to the Swiss capital, he also discussed UN reform and the outcome of last month’s World Summit with President Samuel Schmid and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.In July, Mr. Annan’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Søren Jessen-Petersen, said there had been a slowdown in meeting the standards required for starting final status talks in the province where ethnic Albanians outnumber other communities, mainly Serbs, by about 9 to 1. These cover eight targets in such areas as building democratic institutions, enforcing minority rights, creating a functioning economy and establishing an impartial legal system.Among reasons he cited was the need for stronger commitment by Kosovo Albanian leaders to move forward on the return of Serbs who fled their homes, as well as on freedom of movement and decentralization, and the need for Serbia’s leaders to encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in the province’s political process.In Pristina, Mr. Jessen-Petersen welcomed Mr. Annan’s decision. “The road ahead is clear,” he said, stressing that the provisional Albanian-majority local government known as PISG must work hard to ensure that Kosovo makes further and faster progress in implementing Standards.“The Kosovo that moves towards the decision on status should be a truly multi-ethnic society. We in UNMIK remain ready to support fully the PISG and all the people of Kosovo in every way we can,” he added, referring to UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). read more

Ohio State co-offensive coordinator and former Indiana coach Kevin Wilson calls in plays from the sideline against Northwestern on Oct. 22, 2016. Credit: Courtesy of IU AthleticsFor the past two seasons, the offense of the Ohio State football team has not received nearly as much production as it had in the past from the passing game.Since winning the National Championship in January 2015, the Buckeyes rank eighth in the Big Ten in total passing yards with only 5,236. Enter Kevin Wilson, former Indiana head coach, who has become the next co-offensive coordinator for OSU. Wilson shares the coordinator duties with quarterbacks coach Ryan Day.During Wilson’s tenure at Indiana, the Hoosiers have consistently featured a dominant aerial attack. No team has accumulated more than Indiana’s 18,883 passing yards in the six years that Wilson has been its coach.Though Wilson will be coming into a school that has featured more of a running offense than passing, he said he’s not going to come into OSU and make tremendous changes in the way the team goes about putting points on the board.“I have core values in offensive football, the parallel — almost exactly word-for-word verbatim to what coach (Urban) Meyer believes,” Wilson said. “So the first adjustment is not an adjustment because we’re on the same page as far as how you want to run the offense. Maybe the language is different, maybe things you emphasize as I continue to learn and grow that, in time, maybe we enhance.”One aspect Wilson will be sure to work on improving is the play of the offensive line. In 2016, the o-line surrendered 28 sacks, the second-most in the Urban Meyer era of OSU football.In his playing days for the University of North Carolina, Wilson played both guard and center, two positions familiar to redshirt senior center Billy Price.Price is making the transition from guard to center this season and though Wilson will be the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, Price said Wilson has helped him adjust to the position change and has already started to make his mark felt on the other members of the offensive line. “When the tight ends are in special teams or doing passing stuff, (Wilson’s) working with us directly. Today he was on my case a little bit just to make sure because he’s an offensive coordinator so he is responsible for us as a head,” Price said. “He’s doing a real good job with us. He’s helping (redshirt junior right tackle) Isaiah (Prince), helping (senior left tackle) Jamarco (Jones), myself. You’ve got to take a great player to be an elite player and it’s having that support system and the role models around you and he’s doing a fantastic job. I’m really glad he’s here.”But while the offensive line certainly didn’t do its best to protect the quarterback last season, Wilson also believes the receivers have a responsibility to help out Barrett by getting open faster.Conventional wisdom suggests the receivers are racing against the cornerbacks to try and get open, but Barrett said that Wilson has provided the wideouts with a different mentality to their game.“When coach Wilson came in, he said, ‘As a receiver, you’re not beating a corner, but you’re beating a defensive end that the left tackle has to block. You got to beat the defensive end, you got to get open in order for me to get you the ball. If you take forever to get open, we can’t get you the ball ‘cause we didn’t beat the defensive end,’” redshirt senior quarterback J.T. Barrett said.One thing Wilson brings to the team is plenty of experience. He has served in the capacity of either head coach or offensive coordinator for a college football team dating back to his time at Miami (Ohio) in 1992. Wilson was the offensive coordinator at Miami for seven seasons before moving on to coach at Northwestern for three years. Once his time there was over, he moved on to Oklahoma where he worked under coach Bob Stoops for nine seasons.Of all the coaches Wilson has coached for, he said former coach Randy Walker has been his biggest influence. Wilson coached for Walker at Miami (Ohio) and Northwestern.“The main (influence was) Randy Walker who coached me at Miami of Ohio, how to coach, coach our coaches, gave me a chance to run an offense,” Wilson said. “Kind of gave me a chance to fall on my face and make mistakes and learn and grow.”He also added that while Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops impacted his coaching style, Meyer has apparently already inspired Wilson in the two months Wilson has been on staff.“I’ve been very fortunate. (I) believe it’s a tough game it’s played physical, but also I believe it’s a game that’s exciting and full of energy and every day you get to coach one of the greatest things in the world — someone’s kid and go out and play football,” Wilson said. “And I’m so happy to be here.”Barrett said he believes that while Wilson will come in with his own vision of how to run an offense, his ideas will be incorporated into their offensive plans rather than completely reshape them.“He’s done a lot of great things in his past where it’s been Oklahoma or Indiana,” he said. “We’re not really changing a lot, but he’s bringing in some good ideas that we’re incorporating in. Our offense, it’s not broken, but there’s definitely some things that we can update and adjust and that’s what he’s doing.” read more

Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily  Front Page newsletter and new  audio briefings. Sir Tom at work on The VoiceCredit:Guy Levy Sir Tom Jones has said he was he was better treated while working on a building site than for the BBC, after being sacked with one day’s notice.Sir Tom, who left TV talent show The Voice while it was on the BBC but has now returned for a revamped ITV version, said he furious about the decision, which caused outrage among fans in 2015. Sir Tom Jones and his late wife Linda, photographed in 1965 He hinted he had been quietly pleased as the ratings dropped after his departure.Speaking of his wife Linda, he added: “God bless her, she passed away before I was asked to come back. She would like the fact that I’m doing the show now.” “The first thing I thought was, ‘Why have they left it so late in the day?’ When we got the call, we said, ‘When did you make this decision?’ ‘Yesterday. And we’re going to give it to the press tomorrow.’ Oh, that’s nice!“Well of course that’s a kick in the b——s. When I used to work in factories or on a building site, you’d get a week’s notice at least!”They don’t call you up the day before and say, ‘Sorry, don’t come in tomorrow.’ You don’t make a decision like that overnight.” Speaking ahead of the ITV relaunch, the singer said he was particularly upset for his late wife Linda, who had loved the show and did not live long enough to see him return.“I was p—-d off,” he told the Radio Times. “I never got to the bottom of who made the decision. It was between the production company Wall to Wall and the BBC, and I still don’t know why. read more

A MAN IS in hospital this morning after he was shot through the front door of a house in Ongar in west Dublin earlier.The man in his 30s was shot a number of times at a house in Beechfield Rise shortly after 10am this morning.He was brought to Connolly Hospital where he is said to be in a stable condition.Gardaí have sealed off the scene pending a technical examination and have appealed for witnesses to contact them at Blanchardstown on 01 666 7000. They can also contact the Garda Confidential Telephone Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. read more

Thursday 16 Feb 2017, 1:37 PM Source: RollingNews.ieSome eventualities are nearly impossible to plan for, Moore said – like, for instance, photoshoots at museums that might include exhibits of antique swords: “You’ll get captions like – ‘is the minister for the chop?’”.Most politicians and advisers take a ‘win some, lose some’ approach, he reckons. Moore also recalled an event at DCU during the 2011 presidential election, when he was working for Sean Gallagher (an independent candidate with Fianna Fáil links, but who wasn’t keen to talk up his connection to the party, considering their toxic, post-crash status).“There were a number of student stalls, I remember. And I noticed out of the corner of my eye photographers gathering at a certain stall – which was the Ógra Fianna Fáil stall. You just make sure he doesn’t walk by there – they knew I twigged them, and there was a bit of a smile and wink between us.“That phrase comes to mind … ‘I have to be lucky all the time, they only have to be lucky once’.” Source: RollingNews.iePhotojournalist Leon Farrell of Rollingnews.ie, who took yesterday’s infamous Enda Kenny photo, said he set out to convey the circumstances the Taoiseach had found himself in in the wake of a poor Dáil performance earlier this week, the continuing fallout from the McCabe controversy, and the mounting pressure on his leadership.The media had been told the Fine Gael leader wouldn’t be answering press questions – “and normally if there’s a doorstep you’d try and depict the situation via a particular expression or gesture”.Watching the Taoiseach’s appearance at a jobs announcement in the city centre, he realised after a few minutes that Kenny’s position, just under the word ‘help’ in a display behind him was the photo to get.I just positioned myself down on the ground – he was giving all of these expressions, and I was just looking for one expression that might indicate what was going on.There’s always competition with other photographers to get the ideal photo, Farrell said. In this case he was best positioned to capture the shot, and managed to time the photo perfectly to catch the Taoiseach with his eyes cast to the heavens. Share Tweet Email1 Short URL By Daragh Brophy Love it! #EndaKenny #Help pic.twitter.com/cdSIQ5J3U9— Mike Hogan (@mikehoganmedia) February 16, 2017 http://jrnl.ie/3242508 THERE’S NO QUESTION about it – Leon Farrell’s photo of a forlorn-looking Enda Kenny underneath the word ‘help’ is the Irish news photo of the week.The symbolism (as symbolism tends to) speaks volumes.In the wake of last night’s confidence vote and speculation about the Taoiseach’s leadership of Fine Gael, it’s no surprise that the three main broadsheet newspapers all chose the photo for their front pages. Source: Morning Ireland/Twitter 26,508 Views An unfortunate place to sit, Enda – but photos like this are harder to avoid than you might think When it comes to sitting under unfortunate words or phrases, it’s a case of ‘win some, lose some’ for politicians. Hats off to Leon Farrell of @RollingNewsIre who got the picture of the day pic.twitter.com/Es8SeyB1kW— Morning Ireland (@morningireland) February 16, 2017 Farrell is an agency photographer – meaning newspapers and web outlets like TheJournal.ie pay a subscription fee for use of photos. As a result, he said, “getting the front page is always the goal”.Even so – a ‘treble’ is a very rare thing for an agency photographer. He’s been working since 1992, Farrell said, but this is the first time his photo has been selected by all three broadsheets.I’ve had two out of three before, several times – but it’s great to finally get it.Read: Kenny on the ropes as Fine Gael hopefuls line up to challenge him >Read: Charlton Tribunal will examine allegations of ‘inappropriate contacts’ between gardaí and Tusla > Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article Feb 16th 2017, 1:37 PM Source: Mike Hogan/Twitter 21 Comments The format – politician pictured under unfortunate word – is a standard one for photojournalists. Attend any press conference and you’ll spot the photographers hovering around figuring out where the exits signs are – in case the resulting photo may be of use in the coming weeks, months or even years.How do politicians let themselves get engineered into such hapless scenarios, you might wonder… Perhaps they ought to think twice about appearing in front of giant signs displaying inappropriate phrases?For the most part, that’s a consideration that falls to press advisers. “An occupational hazard,” is how one experienced handler described the process to us this morning.“Photographers are very inventive – they have an eye. They’ll usually spot something that even someone in that kind of advisory role mightn’t be tuned into,” Richard Moore, who has advised government ministers as well as business and media figures over his decades-long career, said. Source: Anna Gowthorpe PA Archive/PA Images Source: PA Archive/PA Images“Invariably if you had time you would arrive in advance of any minister or senior politician because usually you get a chance to talk to the journalists beforehand – but you could also scope the surrounding area.“You’d keep a weather eye out for something – but then again the photograph might only be relevant if the politician is in the eye of a storm. But invariably there is a backdrop somewhere – it’s a common enough thing, where they’ll frame a photograph with maybe half a word or a word that’s germane at the time [see examples above].But there’s a limit to what you can do, to an extent… You’d nearly twig what the photographers are up to sometimes. You’d spot them gathering around certain locations and you’d say ‘right, why are they all standing here’?” read more

“I’ve had so many people ringing me up, and some don’t even know what panelbeating is!” Arthur Matsakos told Neos Kosmos this week, following his recent announcement that he would be giving his car restoration business away for zip. Arthur (48) who started Relic Restorations in Camperdown, Victoria eight years ago, made the decision to allow him to pursue his real labour of love, coordinating the Camperdown Cruise Rockabilly Weekend, an event that has grown into a major annual project since humble beginnings in 2007. “Rather than just shutting the business down, I thought it would be an opportunity to give someone a go,” said Arthur. I hear about the job losses, people sleeping under bridges and here in Camperdown you can buy a house for $120,000. I wanted to give someone an opportunity in life, make a start, have a go.” Arthur says all budding applicants need is a willingness to work hard, and to take on the responsibility of a $1200 a month lease. An understanding of spray painting and panelbeating would be an advantage. “It’s ongoing work and they inherit the customer list,” says Arthur. “They can start working straight away. I’m going to leave them the desk and the computer, but they also need their own tools. I’ve had mine since I was sixteen and I’m keeping those.” It was as a teenager that Arthur’s passion for iconic cars and rebuilding them, began – with a ’57 Chevy. In his new career as full-time Camperdown Cruise director, there will be no shortage of fine automobiles. This year’s festival in October will see over 600 hot rods and classic cars taking part. “I absolutely love it that Camperdown, with a population of 4000, turns into a population of 30,000 over that weekend,” says Arthur, who began the festival five years ago as a sausage sizzle with a few mates outside his workshop. “This year we’ll have rockabilly acts coming and playing from overseas and across Australia. Fashion parades, 50 trade stores and the classic car show. “It’s all about the smiles on people’s faces, the music, the dancing, it’s just such a wonderful feeling bringing people together.” The success of Arthur’s Camperdown festival has resulted in him being commissioned to produce a similar and possibly even larger event at a second western Victorian town in February 2013. It’s location will be announced this October. Facebook Twitter: @NeosKosmos Instagram read more

RICHLAND — A Richland couple’s wedding night ended with the bride going to jail for biting the groom.Police say the couple argued and fought Saturday night at the Red Lion Hotel in Kennewick following the ceremony.Sgt. Ken Lattin says the 40-year-old bride was the aggressor in the fight and bit her 31-year-old husband.Lattin told the Tri-City Herald the man stood by his bride and refused to give police a statement or allow them to take a photo of the bite mark.

The district expects to have a better idea of the final enrollment numbers by October when the final count is administered. Dusek: “That really comes into play in October, in the count period. Typically, after Labor Day we do pick up several more students. We’ll probably be fairly close to our projected enrollment.” KPBSD Superintendent Sean Dusek told the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly this week that overall, the District’s student count is to be expected: “Enrollment seems to be a little bit down, but we hope that by October I’ll have more solid information for you.”  Facebook0TwitterEmailPrintFriendly分享Enrollment is down for this year according to preliminary reports from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. According to Dusek the school district expected the slight decline: “We are starting down a little bit, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, the district talked last year about certain schools that might experience a little bit of a decline in enrollment.”  Dusek presented the quarterly report for the school district at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday evening. read more

WILMINGTON, MA — According to the Wilmington Town Clerk’s calendar, below are the town and school board, committee and commission meeting scheduled for the week of Sunday, April 15, 2018.Sunday, April 15No MeetingsMonday, April 16No MeetingsTuesday, April 17The Wilmington Board of Health meets at 5:30pm in Town Hall’s Room 9. Read the agenda HERE.The Wilmington Board of Library Trustees meets at 7pm in the library’s Banda Room. Read the agenda HERE.Wednesday, April 18No MeetingsThursday, April 19The Wilmington Elderly Services Commission meets at 1:30pm at the Center. The agenda will be posted HERE.The Wilmington Water & Sewer Commission meets at 5:30pm in Town Hall’s Room 9. Read the agenda HERE.Friday, April 20No MeetingsSaturday, April 21No MeetingsAll meetings are open to the public unless noted.(NOTE: While unlikely, it is possible additional meetings could be added to this week’s calendar on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.  It’s best to check the Town Clerk’s calendar mid-week.)Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading… RelatedWhat Are Town Boards & Committees Talking About? (Week of August 11, 2019)In “Government”What Are Town Boards & Committees Talking About? (Week of June 16, 2019)In “Government”What Are Town Boards & Committees Talking About? (Week of July 14, 2019)In “Government” read more

Tags Hello, old friend.  Square Enix Square Enix announced Final Fantasy VII Remake’s release date, March 3 2020, 24 hours before its E3 scheduled press conference. So what did the company have left for its big event?A lot.Yoshinori Kitase opened Square Enix’s show and announced that the game will take part in two parts, one within Midgar one outside of it. The entire Remake will take up two entire Blu-Ray discs, similar to how the PlayStation 1 original took up three CDs. We then got a combat explainer from Neal Pabon, senior manager of product marketing. Remake will use a hybrid combat system, using real-time hacking and slashing plus a bullet-time tactical mode from which you can use magic, items and Limit Break attacks. Our first look at Tifa in Remake.  Square Enix You can also add shortcuts that bypass the bullet-time mode, making it more like a Kingdom Hearts battle experience. The demo ended with Cloud and Barrett’s boss battle with the Scorpion Sentinel.After the gameplay demo, which at numerous points set the crowd buck wild, Tetsuya Nomura came out to talk to the crowd. The game is playable, for the first time ever, at E3, he announces.The Final Fantasy VII Remake portion of the press conference ended with an extended trailer, which gave us our first glimpse of Tifa in the Remake.  40 Photos E3 2019 Aug 3 • E3 journalists see their personal info exposed by security flaw • Why 2020 could be the best year for video games E3 2019 reading • E3 2019: Final Fantasy VII Remake to be split into two parts Aug 28 • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order trailer, gameplay footage and everything we know Square Share your voice Video Games Comment See All Jul 26 • Doom Eternal: QuakeCon ‘Year of Doom’ keynote shows more ‘Battlemode’ action Aug 19 • Borderlands 3: FL4K, new endgame content and everything else we know 1 read more

Rep. Lance Pruitt, R- Anchorage, during a House minority press availability Thursday. Pruitt introduced a fiscal plan. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)House members from both sides of the aisle have put forward new ideas to balance the state government budget into the future.Listen nowThe co-chairmen of the House Finance Committee revised their plans to introduce an income tax to Alaska for the first time in nearly four decades.Instead of basing the tax on 15 percent of residents’ federal tax liability, the revision to House Bill 115 would introduce new tax rates.Co-chair Homer Republican Paul Seaton said public testimony opposed to basing the tax on the federal liability led to the change. It would instead be based on a person’s income, but exclude Permanent Fund dividends and $4,000 per person.“When the testimony was pretty much that we should go to adjusted gross income, the administration had had a consultant that had worked on an adjusted gross tax bill earlier, and so some of that language has been incorporated in here,” Seaton said.The income tax would start at $10,300 for a single person, and $22,600 for a couple. The rates would range from 2.5 percent at the low end to 7 percent for taxable income above $250,000 for a single person and $500,000 for a couple.Republican House minority caucus members also put forward a long-term budget proposal. The plan includes larger Permanent Fund dividends than the plan the Senate passed. And it includes deeper spending cuts than the House is considering.The bill would still leave a several hundred million dollar gap in the budget.Anchorage Rep. Lance Pruitt said he proposed the bill to make sure that residents who felt excluded from the process were represented. They include Matanuska-Susitna Borough residents.“The Mat-Su Valley has 100,000 people,” Pruitt said. “Sometimes I was feeling on this issue that they might not actually have been heard — that they have some concerns — and so I felt that we couldn’t just push that group of Alaskans and set them to the side.”House Speaker Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham) fields questions from reporters during a House Majority press availability on Tuesday. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said the House Finance Committee will advance legislation that will close the budget gap based on all four ideas that brought his caucus together – drawing from the Permanent Fund changes, reducing PFDs, raising revenue, and cutting spending.“You need to have all those pieces in place and absent any of those pieces, we’ve only done part of our work this session,” Edgmon said.The state budget proposal was stuck in the House this week. While the body voted to pass the budget on Monday, the House minority exercised its right to ask for the vote to be reconsidered. The budget came up again Friday, the minority didn’t repeat its request for reconsideration, so the bill was sent over to the Senate.The House Finance Committee will hear public testimony on long-term budget plans next week. The Senate Finance Committee will discuss the Senate version of the budget. read more

Hatcher Pass and the historic Independence Mine site. (Photo courtesy Casey Grove)Three Willow-based entrepreneurs want to operate a commercial snowcat-and-helicopter skiing operation in Hatcher Pass.The mountainous recreation area sits between Willow and Palmer in the Talkeetna Mountains and hosts all sorts of other winter activities, like backcountry skiing, snowboarding and snowmachining.Adam Cuthriell is a mountain and fishing guide who teamed up with two snowcat operators, Farley and Bryce Dean, to form Hatcher Pass Mountain Guides. They’re applying for a permit from the state, which is up for public comment. They aim to bring affordable heli-skiing to Hatcher Pass, Cuthriell said.“The heli-skiing is an awesome experience, but typically high-dollar trips, and most ski bums really can’t swing that for a day,” Cuthriell said.They want to take clients via snowcat to areas farther away from other recreationalists, and then fly a helicopter to more challenging peaks, Cuthriell said. He said this would be on the Willow side of the pass, away from most others using the Palmer side of the pass.And it would be cheaper than other heli-skiing, Cuthriell said, because a group of skiers or snowboarders can get into the backcountry in the snowcat and then split into pairs to take turns in the helicopter. He said they can use a Robinson R-44 helicopter to make each short trip, often called a “heli-bump.”“So by kind of mixing the two, you get kind of get the best of both worlds with a significantly lower price point than most conventional heli-ski and snowboard operations,” Cuthriell said.Critics of the proposal by Hatcher Pass Mountain Guides say it’s not the right place for such an operation, as there are already many other users in the mountains, more than most other heli-skiing zones because of the maintained road into the pass.But Cuthriell said there’s been some misunderstanding from a map put out by the state Department of Natural Resources showing the operation’s proposed boundary area, and confusion about where Hatcher Pass Mountain guides plans to actually fly and land the helicopter, versus where they will drive the snowcat.Cuthriell said there are obvious reasons any commercial, guided skiing operation would want to stay away from other users, like skiers and snowboarders.“If you have paying clients, you don’t want to be selling this notion of a backcountry experience to have a bunch of people touring right up next to you or a bunch of guys and gals on snowmachines ripping by,” Cuthriell said. “There’s always some overlap, but that’s not good for the paying clients, or for the public, or just the general backcountry experience.”That backcountry experience at Hatcher Pass, and the quiet, are what some worry will be ruined by having a helicopter buzzing overhead.And it’s not just the noise, said Nick D’Alessio, a professional ski guide and mountain safety instructor, and a frequent user of Hatcher Pass.D’Alessio’s concerns include questions about whether landing the helicopter above others might create a risky situation, or whether the R-44 helicopter is actually safe for landing atop mountains in windy conditions. The R-44 is smaller and less-powerful than the Eurocopter choppers more typically used for heli-skiing.D’Alessio said while Hatcher Pass Mountain Guides can claim they don’t intend to fly or land in certain areas but the proposed boundary map still gives them access to areas on the Palmer side.“The entire area of the map is unfit for an operation like this,” he said. “To me it doesn’t really matter specifically how they’re going to operate. Generally speaking, trying to have a helicopter in that area is not going to be a good idea, and it’s going result in a lot of very, very pissed off people. It’s just a really dumb idea.”The permit application to the state Department of Natural Resources is up for public comment until May 2. The proposed boundary map and more information are available on the DNR website.Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect an extended public comment period. read more

Arun JaitleyReutersThe government will bring in soon a new law to regulate chit fund schemes to protect investors, Finance minister Arun Jaitley said on the floor of Lok Sabha on Thursday.The idea of the new pan-India law on chit funds is to ensure that those who are lured into these schemes by the marginally higher interest rates that they offer as compared to banks are not taken for a ride.”SEBI is looking into the existing chit fund cases. There are state laws to deal with them in Bengal and Odisha. But what to do with those who run operations throughout the country? We are drafting a central law and very soon we will bring it before you,” the minister told the house.Moreover, FM said that safer investment instruments such as the Pradhan Mantri Vyaya Vandana Yojana (PMVYY) that offers senior citizens an 8.3% fixed rate of return are being made available.Jaitley also expressed confidence that lending rates will come down in the economy, as high rates will only keep the industry uncompetitive and consequently discourage investments.FM also defended State Bank of India’s (SBI) decision to cut the interest rate on savings accounts of less than Rs 1 crore, saying the move was in sync with the reduction in lending rate.RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Wednesday cut repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to six percent, the lowest in last seven years, primarily due to a steeper-than-anticipated fall in inflation and maintained a neutral policy stance.Replying to a debate on the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, the minister said that there needs to be a political consensus as well as the will to address the problem of non-performing assets (NPAs), as state-owned banks seeking to honestly address the problem through certain steps were facing the anxiety of being questioned about their decisions by investigative agencies years later, business daily Mint reported.Jaitley said the Reserve Bank has already identified top 12 loan defaulters and more cases will be taken up by them for resolution.The Reserve bank of India (RBI) has already identified the top 12 loan defaulters for bankruptcy resolution, but some of the promoters have objected to the defaulting companies being referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by banks for insolvency resolution, arguing that the lenders’ move was arbitrary.”No one can claim the right of equality in not paying banks back. RBI has taken up some difficult cases… I am sure they will take up more,” Jaitley said. The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, which was promulgated in May this year.Earlier on Wednesday NCLT has admitted petition submitted by SBI and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) to initiate insolvency proceedings against Essar Steal that owes around Rs 37,000 crore to banks. read more

Protesters crowd along a main road during a demonstration against a proposed extradition bill in Hong Kong, China on 12 June. Photo: ReutersChaotic scenes erupted in Hong Kong on Wednesday as tens of thousands of demonstrators stormed key roads next to government offices to protest against a proposed extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial.Thousands of protesters rallied in and around Lung Wo Road, an important east-west artery near the offices of embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, as hundreds of riot police warned them to stop advancing.Some protesters erected barricades to block traffic in the heart of the Asian financial centre, with many defying police calls to retreat, in scenes reminiscent of pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in late 2014.The government advised staff to avoid driving to government buildings because roads were blocked.Lam has defiantly vowed to press ahead with the controversial legislation despite deep concerns across the Asian financial hub that triggered on Sunday its biggest political demonstration since its handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.Demonstrators from across a wide spectrum of Hong Kong society began joining the overnight protesters earlier on Wednesday as businesses across the city prepared to go on strike.The bill, which has generated unusually broad opposition at home and abroad, is due for a second round of debate on Wednesday in Hong Kong’s 70-seat Legislative Council, although it was not immediately clear if that would go ahead as planned.The legislature is controlled by a pro-Beijing majority.Lam has sought to soothe public concerns and said her administration was creating additional amendments to the bill, including safeguarding human rights.In a rare move, prominent business leaders warned that pushing through the extradition law could undermine investor confidence in Hong Kong and erode its competitive advantages.Sunday’s protest, which organisers said saw more than a million people take to the streets, in addition to a snowballing backlash against the extradition bill could raise questions about Lam’s ability to govern effectively.That protest rally plunged Hong Kong into political crisis, just as months of pro-democracy “Occupy” demonstrations did in 2014, heaping pressure on Lam’s administration and her official backers in Beijing.A spokesman for bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said a cocktail reception on Wednesday evening to celebrate 19 years of being listed, at which Lam is guest of honour, would go ahead.Strikes, Go-SlowThe protesters, mostly young people, wore makeshift protective gear such as masks and goggles as they dragged steel barriers on to roads, wreaking commuter havoc in the morning rush hour.The demonstrators rallied just a stone’s throw from the heart of the financial centre where glittering skyscrapers house the offices of some of the world’s biggest companies, including HSBC.HSBC and Standard Chartered, in addition to the Big Four accounting firms, had all agreed to flexible work arrangements for staff on Wednesday, Hong Kong media reported.Strikes and transport go-slows were also announced for Wednesday as businesses, students, bus drivers, social workers, teachers and other groups all vowed to protest in a last-ditch effort to block the bill.The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong called on the government not to pass the bill “hurriedly” and urged all Christians to pray for the former British colony. Lam, who warned against “radical action” at the latest protest, is a Catholic.Britain handed Hong Kong back to China 22 years ago under a “one-country, two-systems” formula, with guarantees that its autonomy and freedoms, including an independent justice system, would be protected.However, many accuse China of extensive meddling since then, including obstruction of democratic reforms, interference with local elections and of being behind the disappearance of five Hong Kong-based booksellers, starting in 2015, who specialised in works critical of Chinese leaders.Beijing rejects those accusations and official Chinese media said this week “foreign forces” were trying to damage China by creating chaos over the extradition bill.Human rights groups have repeatedly cited the alleged use of torture, arbitrary detentions, forced confessions and problems accessing lawyers in China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party, as reasons why the Hong Kong bill should not proceed.China denies accusations that it tramples on human rights. read more

After the absolutely soul-crushing experience that was my attempt to review Steel Battallion: Heavy Armor, I have been really looking forward to MechWarrior Online. The MechWarrior universe is old, it’s well documented, and this is simply the latest in a terrific line of games from the franchise. The fact that it uses CryEngine 3 to render the game doesn’t hurt, either.MechWarrior Online takes the standard battle mech game and makes an MMO out of it, complete with a fantastic online ecosystem if the demo videos are to be believed. Of course, if you want to play it now you could always sign up for the closed beta that is currently running.As is common with many games recently, MechWarrior Online has allowed those who are willing to shell out a few bucks ahead of time access to a limited portion of the game. The MechWarrior Online Founder’s program has three price points that are really enough to tempt anyone interested in getting their hands on the game early. Starting at $30, each of the Founder’s pricing tiers includes access to the game, as well as a host of various other extras. The $120, and most expensive tier, gives you four of the special Founders variants of the mechs you will be playing when the game comes out, as well as a place in history with your name being added to the end credits of the game.According to several sources, the gameplay in the beta is an eight-on-eight multiplayer assault style match with mechs that you have customized to suit your battle experience. There’s only a couple of maps that are available in the beta, but our sources have informed us that there are already thousands of players online. Whether you are a casual player looking for a fun new game, or a battle hardened veteran with years of experience in the Battletech Universe, it looks like MechWarrior Online is going to be a truly great game. read more

Henry Ford Hospital’s ViewRay MRIdian linear accelerator system allows real-time MRI-guided radiotherapy. Shown is the support staff for this system. In the center of the photo is Benjamin Movsas, M.D., chair of radiation oncology at Henry Ford Cancer Institute. Second from the right is Carri Glide-Hurst, Ph.D., director of translational research, radiation oncology. November 20, 2008 – TeraRecon Inc. released new innovations in the cardiovascular and vascular clinical applications for its Aquarius iNtuition advanced visualization solution at the VEITH symposium Nov. 19-23, in New York City.Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is the 13th-leading cause of death in the U.S., causing an about 15,000 deaths per year. Diagnosis and treatment planning is crucial to detection and treatment of this disease. TeraRecon Aquarius best-in-class client server technology provides robust and industry-leading clinical tools that aid the clinician in achieving a comprehensive diagnosis and accurate treatment planning strategies. The company said vascular and cardiovascular intervention have very particular needs when it comes to advanced visualization software, and apart from primary diagnostic requirements, detailed and precise 3D measurements are often required to plan intervention. Aquarius iNtuition provides a complete cardiovascular analysis solution. Automated software identifies vasculature, quantifies stenotic and aneurysmal disease, calculates calcium burden, and supports detailed measurement of vessel dimensions and relative locations. Customer-tailored workflow templates speed the process of navigation through the dataset so that the physician can apply their time and concentration to the clinical interpretation of the studies, the company said.Aquarius iNtuition also offers planning tools for endovascular intervention, especially for aortic repair. The EVAR planning tools provide automated centerlines of the vasculature with anatomy ID labeling, easily-determined fixation points and appropriate measurements. All these are then reported in the embedded thoracic and abdominal endograft templates for grafts from Cook, Medtronic, Gore, Bolton and Endologix. Post-operative evaluation can be achieved with customized 3D templates that can help identify endoleaks, aneurysm growth and the integrity of implanted devices.Another feature of Aquarius iNtuition is portability. The company offers a fully self-contained laptop version of the Aquarius solution, as well as AquariusWEB, a browser-based viewer that delivers live, interactive, 3D reports to the interventionalists and surgeons who are the ultimate end-users of the imaging data. AquariusWEB gives the possibility to the physicians to simply open a URL link sent via an e-mail or embedded in the patient record and have instant access to review and interact with the volumetric dataset. No plug-in or installation is required. AquariusWEB works on a standard web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome, as well as Unix-based browsers. AquariusWEB also features a mobile edition compatible with the iPhone.For more information: www.terarecon.com FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrint分享 Technology | Advanced Visualization | June 13, 2019 Materialise Receives FDA Clearance for Cardiovascular Planning Software Suite Three-dimensional (3-D) printing software and solutions company Materialise has received U.S. Food and Drug… read more News | Medical 3-D Printing | August 08, 2019 RSNA and ACR to Collaborate on Landmark Medical 3D Printing Registry The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) will launch a new medical… read more Technology | Virtual and Augmented Reality | June 04, 2019 Ann Arbor Startup Launches Augmented Reality MRI Simulator SpellBound, an Ann Arbor startup specializing in augmented reality (AR) tools for children in hospitals, has officially… read more Feature | Advanced Visualization | July 02, 2019 | By Jeff Zagoudis Augmented Reality Versus 3-D Printing for Radiology Three-dimensional (3-D) printing and… read more Feature | Molecular Imaging | July 01, 2019 | By Sharvari Rale Transformations in Molecular Imaging Herald Entry to Novel Applications Diagnostic procedures have always been a cornerstone of early prognosis and patient triaging. read more Technology | Neuro Imaging | August 07, 2019 Synaptive Medical Launches Modus Plan With Automated Tractography Segmentation Synaptive Medical announced the U.S. launch and availability of Modus Plan featuring BrightMatter AutoSeg. This release… read more News | Advanced Visualization | July 03, 2019 TeraRecon Unveils iNtuition AI Data Extractor Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced visualization company TeraRecon announced its new iNtuition AI Data Extractor… read more Image courtesy of Philips Healthcare Technology | Artificial Intelligence | June 20, 2019 TeraRecon Receives First-of-Kind FDA Determination for Northstar AI Results Explorer Advanced visualization and artificial intelligence (AI) technology provider TeraRecon has successfully completed a U.S… read more Related Content Technology | Virtual and Augmented Reality | June 10, 2019 Medivis SurgicalAR Gets FDA Clearance Medivis announced that its augmented reality (AR) technology platform for surgical applications, SurgicalAR, has… read more News | November 19, 2008 TeraRecon Releases New Cardiovascular Advanced Visualization Features for Aquarius iNtuition Feature | Henry Ford Hospital | May 21, 2019 | Dave Fornell, Editor Innovations in Radiotherapy and Radiology at Henry Ford Hospital Henry Ford Hospital thought leaders regularly speak at the radiation oncology and radiology conferences about new res read more A 3-D printed model (left) and a model constructed in augmented reality (right), both of a kidney with a tumor. In both models, the kidney is clear; the tumor is visible in purple on the AR model and in white on the 3-D printed model. Photo courtesy of Nicole Wake, Ph.D. read more