Month: March 2017

The PA Succession Struggle

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made new appointments to the Fatah leadership on February 15, 2017, and also named a deputy Chairman of the movement. He did not, however, solve the problem of the Palestinian succession struggle for the chairmanship.

Deal made after Mexican man died at border gets initial OK

A federal judge tentatively approved an agreement Thursday for the U.S. government to pay $1 million to the children of a Mexican man who died after being detained by immigration authorities and shot several times with a stun gun. The settlement considered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Louisa Porter is intended to end a nearly 7-year case that prompted widespread complaints that U.S. immigration authorities tolerated agents who use excessive force.

Georgia row over TV channel ruling

Georgia’s Supreme Court has ordered to return the nation’s biggest independent TV channel to its previous co-owner, a move denounced by government critics. The court backed a claim by owner Kibar Khalvashi that the former government illegally forced him to surrender his shares in Rustavi 2. He also invited Mr Khalvashi to sell Rustavi 2 to its current management, after the owner had suggested he would sell the channel in the future.

Ancient human tree cultivation shaped Amazon landscape

Ancient indigenous peoples had a far more profound impact on the composition of the vast Amazon rainforest than previously known, according to a study showing how tree species domesticated by humans long ago still dominate big swathes of the wilderness. Researchers said on Thursday many tree species populating the Amazon region appear to be abundant because they were cultivated by people who populated the area before Europeans arrived more than five centuries ago.

Xolos soccer is more fun than you never knew it could be

Across the border, past the Costco and the Marriott and the Tijuana Country Club, down an alley and before the mall entrance, past the greyhounds being led to the starting line for the sixth race, is one of those experiences you don’t know you’re missing. It is happy, friendly chaos.

Marco Silva is described as “intense” by his players

It would have been so easy to dismiss the Hull manager as a club puppet, brought in to oversee a fire sale ahead of near certain relegation. They were bottom of the Premier League when Silva took over Hull on January 5 and given even less chance of survival when they sold Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore during the transfer window.

Donald Trump says he has ‘total’ confidence in Jeff Sessions; no need to recuse from Russia probe

Update: President Donald Trump says he “wasn’t aware” that his attorney general — former Sen. Jeff Sessions — had contact with the Russian ambassador during last year’s White House campaign. A growing number of Republicans joined Democratic leaders Thursday in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step aside from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election.

Air NZ contract for Virgin Australia planes to be serviced in Nelson

Air New Zealand chief operations officer Bruce Parton, left, and general manager regional maintenance operations Adam McMillan look at one of Virgin Australia’s ATRs at the regional maintenance base in Nelson. A fleet of Virgin Australia’s turboprop planes are now being serviced at Air New Zealand’s regional maintenance facility in Nelson.

FX’s ‘Feud: Bette and Joan’: Another total knockdown, drag-out hit from Ryan Murphy

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events Susan Sarandon, left, as Bette Davis and Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in FX’s “Feud: Bette and Joan.” A fantastic miniseries has arrived that at last fully tells the painful history of being gay in modern America – and no, silly, it’s not ABC’s dourly dutiful “When We Rise.”

Adele drops fireworks from stadium show after sona s injury

On Wednesday , Adele played her first-ever stadium show in Perth, Australia, but she explained to fans that one special effect she had planned had been scrapped due to injuryher son’s injury. According to TheMusic.com.au , Adele was going to end her performance of “Set Fire to the Rain” with a fireworks display, but called it off.

Mexican baseball manager ‘Paquin’ Estrada reported missing

In this March 4, 2006 file photo, Team Mexico manager Francisco Estrada, left, and pitching coach and former Los Angeles Dodger great, Fernando Valenzuela, right, look out over the field as the team works out before the start of their spring training baseball exhibition game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Ariz. Estrada’s team Los Bravos de Leon reported on Thursday, March 2, 2017, that Estrada is missing since Wednesday, March 1, when he failed to show up for a news conference.

UPDATE 1-Nigeria files new charges against Shell, Eni, others over…

Nigeria’s financial crime watchdog has filed new corruption charges against Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and others regarding the $1.3 billion purchase of a long-disputed oilfield in 2011, according to court documents released on Thursday. The charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and official corruption were made after an investigation by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission found new evidence, Jonson Ojogbane, an EFCC senior prosecutor named in the documents, told Reuters by telephone.

Kyo-Shin-An Arts to Present Kammerraku Show at Tenri Cultural Institute This Month

A 2016 and 2013 CMA/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award Winner, KYO-SHIN-AN ARTS is a contemporary music organization dedicated to the integration of the Japanese instruments koto, shakuhachi and shamisen into Western classical composition. Kyo-Shin-An Arts’ award-winning concert series at the Tenri Cultural Institute in Manhattan features a blend of KSA commissions with World, American and NY premieres, traditional and contemporary music for Japanese instruments and Western repertoire.

MADD Presents ‘Jes Fan: No Clearance in Niche’, Thru 4/30

The Museum of Arts and Design is pleased to present Jes Fan: No Clearance in Niche , running from March 2 through April 30. This marks the inaugural installation of Fellow Focus , an ongoing exhibition series highlighting the work of alumni of the Van Lier Arts Fellowship at MAD . Funded by the New York Community Trust and introduced to the Museum by its Education Department in 2016, the fellowship provides talented, culturally underrepresented rising artists with financial support and a dedicated studio at MAD for full-time use over four months.

Horrified Press Launches in the Briar Chapbook

Nathan Rowark, editor of Horrified Press in London England, has released “In the Briar,” a chapbook written by Florida author Cynthia Morrison. Morrison, a writer of horror fiction, was compelled to include Florida’s Cassadaga psychic community as well as the infamous urban legend of the “Devil’s Chair” of Lake Helen cemetery located in close proximity.

The Latest: Geneva talks to focus on Syria transition Friday

In this Wednesday, March 1, 2017 frame grab from video provided by the government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media, Syrian forces take up positions during fighting between Government forces and Islamic State group militants in the ancient city of Palmyra, near Homs, Syria. Syrian state media says government forces have reached the edge of Palmyra and are poised to reclaim the historic town from the Islamic State group.

Xi Jinping may have signaled a huge transformation for China’s economy

More specifically, he gave a speech about the death of highly indebted industrial state-owned enterprises to make room for new more privately owned service industry companies, a painful process to be sure. Which is why it isn’t surprising that since this talk began in earnest, at the end of 2015, Chinese officials spoke in little detail, especially regarding “Authorities must deal with zombie companies in a ‘resolute manner,’ offer laid-off workers new posts or vocational training opportunities, and ensure those who are unable to find a job are covered by the social safety net or other aids, Xi said at the meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.”

BBVA to invest $1.5 bln in Mexico over next four to five years

Spanish lender BBVA will invest $1.5 billion in Mexico over the next four to five years, its chairman, Francisco Gonzalez, said on Thursday at an event in Mexico City. By Jeffrey Dastin SAN FRANCISCO, March 2 Amazon.com Inc has launched a new program to help students build capabilities into its voice-controlled assistant Alexa, the company told Reuters, the latest move by a technology firm to nurture ideas and talent in artificial intelligence research.

March 2, 2017 – Discriminatory’ housing policy raises ire in Rahat

AN UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE crowd of Rahat residents waits yesterday in Beersheba to apply to purchase housing plots.. An incident this week that illustrated the inability of the authorities to organize the marketing of housing plots in Rahat has heightened anger among Beduin residents there who have long felt they are the victims of discrimination by the state.

Suspend visa-free EU travel for US citizens, MEPs say

United States citizens should be denied visa-free access to the European Union before summer because Washington does not allow some EU nationals to enter there without visa, EU lawmakers said in a vote today . The European Parliament vote is set to put pressure on the European Commission, the EU’s executive, to enforce a one-year suspension as a tit-for-tat measure for Washington’s denial of visa-free access to citizens of Poland, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria, all members of the 28-country bloc.

Maharashtra govt launches pilot project to map wakf lands

State government statistics suggest that Maharashtra has around 93,418 acres of wakf land spread over about 23,566 registered properties. In a first step to assess the extent of wakf lands spread out in prime areas across the state, the Maharashtra government has launched a pilot project to map out these properties and the encroachments on them.

Brock basketball takes aim at Ravens

And when Brock takes the court at the Wilson Cup in Ottawa on Friday night, Dwane Casey’s influence will be woven through Charles Kissi’s upstart Badgers squad. Kissi’s team takes an 11-game winning streak into a tough OUA conference Final Four that features the top four-ranked teams in Canadian university men’s basketball.

Bellatrix announces conference call and webcast details and release…

Bellatrix announces conference call and webcast details and release dates for its upcoming 2016 year-end reserves and 2016 financial and operational results Bellatrix announces conference call and webcast details and release dates for its upcoming 2016 year-end reserves and 2016 financial and operational results Bellatrix announces conference call and webcast details and release dates for its upcoming 2016 year-end reserves and 2016 financial and operational results /CNW/ – Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. plans to release its 2016 year end reserve information before markets open on Bellatrix will host a conference call to discuss the year end reserve information as well as the fourth quarter and year-end financial and operational results on .