U.S. Economy Grew 1.9% in Quarter, Unchanged From Early Estimate

bloomberg.com - The U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter at a 1.9 percent pace, unchanged from an initial estimate, as slower investment by businesses and state and local agencies offset stronger household purchases.

The gain in gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, was smaller than the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey for a 2.1 percent annualized rate. Consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, rose 3 percent, more than projected, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday in Washington.

The results reinforce the leading role that consumers continue to play in the current expansion, helped by a tight job market, low borrowing costs and rising confidence. Optimism that President Donald Trump will lower taxes, reduce regulation and rebuild infrastructure may also encourage businesses to step up investment this year, contributing to growth.

Economists’ growth estimates ranged from 1.7 percent to 2.6 percent. The GDP release is the second of three for the quarter, with the third scheduled for late March, when more information is available. The economy expanded at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter.

The revision showed GDP grew 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the same as the initial estimate. That’s about in line with the average 2 percent pace of the current expansion which began in mid-2009. (ontinueReading

Not Your Dad’s Marijuana: Pediatricians Warn Against Pot Use For Kids, Teens

and Menthol cigarettes are legal..

CHICAGO (AP) — An influential doctors group is beefing up warnings about marijuana’s potential harms for teens amid increasingly lax laws and attitudes on pot use.

Many parents use the drug and think it’s OK for their kids, but “we would rather not mess around with the developing brain,” said Dr. Seth Ammerman.

The advice comes in a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, published Monday in Pediatrics. The group opposes medical and recreational marijuana use for kids. It says emphasizing that message is important because most states have legalized medical use for adults, and many have decriminalized or legalized adults’ recreational use.

Those trends have led parents to increasingly ask doctors about kids’ use, said Ammerman, a Stanford University pediatrics professor who co-wrote the report.

`’Parents will say, `I use it moderately and I’m fine with it, so it’s really benign and not a problem if my kid uses it,”‘ he said.

Doctors need to know how to respond to that thinking, and parents and teens need to know the risks, Ammerman said. (ontinueReading

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Busted food chain Wendy's plans self-ordering kiosks at 1,000 locations

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Wendy’s says it plans to install self-ordering kiosks at about 1,000 locations by the end of the year.

A typical location would have three kiosks, The Columbus Dispatch reported (http://bit.ly/2md5sjn ). Higher-volume restaurants will be given priority for the kiosks.

Wendy’s chief information officer, David Trimm, said the kiosks are intended to appeal to younger customers and reduce labor costs. Kiosks also allow customers of the fast food giant to circumvent long lines during peak dining hours while increasing kitchen production.

Trim estimates the company will see a return on its investment in less than two years.

“They are looking to improve their automation and their labor costs, and this is a good way to do it,” said Darren Tristano, vice president with Technomic, a food-service research and consulting firm. “They are also trying to enhance the customer experience. Younger customers prefer to use a kiosk.”

Kiosks are also valued by the Dublin, Ohio-based company for their ability to provide data about customers.

“This move puts them at the forefront of the kiosk and tech movement,” Tristano said.

Kiosks already have been installed at several central Ohio locations, where the company first tested the technology.

Customers will still be able to order at the counter for now, although Tristano predicts that mobile ordering and payment via smartphones will one day overtake self-ordering kiosks and cash registers.

Source

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Related: (FoxNews) Wendy's is spending $30 million to overhaul its chicken sandwiches

BOYCOTT WENDY'S

Drug Overdose Deaths On The Rise In US, Mortality Rate Rose Twice Since 1999

TechTimes.com - A new report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the rate of deaths due to drug overdose in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1999.

Researchers analyzed the data submitted by the National Vital Statics System and observed the effects of drug overdose on people across the nation from 1999 to 2015.

 
What Does The Reports Reveal?

The report by CDC suggests that people in their mid 40s and 60s were greatly affected by the drug overdose, although all age groups were at a risk of dying.

Dr. Caleb Alexander, one of the co-directors for the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, states that the overdose deaths are increasing at an alarming rate each year. He added that 2016 recorded the largest number of deaths due to opioids.
Statistics Of Drug Related Deaths

The study revealed that in 1999, only 6.1 deaths out of every 100,000 were caused due to drug overdose, while in 2015, it went up to 16.3 deaths per 100,000 people.

Previous figures revealed by CDC also indicate that the total number of deaths by opioid overdoses increased four times.

More than 33,000 people were killed by opioids in 2015. It is estimated that every day around 91 U.S. citizens are killed due to opioids.

Moreover, it is believed that in the period between 2000 and 2015, around 5 million people in the country overdosed on opioids. Taking a heavy toll on death rates, synthetic opioid contributed to 18 percent of deaths in 2015, while in 2010 being just 8 percent.

Deaths due to heroin tripled from 8 percent in 2000 to 25 percent in 2015. Death due to cocaine increased to 13 percent in 2015 from 2010's figure of 11 percent.

However, there was a decrease of death rate due to semi synthetic and natural opioids. In 2010, it accounted for 29 percent and declined to 24 percent in 2015.

The states which felt the effect of rising drug overdose most in 2015 were New Hampshire, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

Reason For The Sudden Increase

The new report from CDC suggests that the increased use of drugs is closely related to the price cut of heroin and also the increase in its purity. Several opioid and heroin crisis have been observed by U.S. authorities leading to such horrifying statistics.

"Due to its falling price, heroin can cost as little as one-tenth that of prescription pills," said Rich Hamburg, executive vice president of the non-profit group.

Hamburg added that people are more likely to use heroin if they have started consuming opioid painkillers. (ontinueReading

Busted Retailer J.C. Penney to close 130 to 140 stores and offer early retirement to 6,000 workers

LATimes.com - J.C. Penney said Friday (Feb 24) it will be closing 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers over the next several months as it aims to improve profitability in the era of online shopping.

The closures represent 13% to 14% of the department store operator's current store count, and less than 5% of total annual sales. The company said it also would initiate a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible employees.

The company plans to release a full list of stores slated for closure in mid-March after notifying affected employees. Most locations will close in May. It also plans to sell its supply chain facility in Buena Park "in an effort to monetize a lucrative real estate asset."

The news came as the Plano, Texas-based chain posted a profit in the fourth-quarter compared with a loss a year ago. But total sales were down slightly, and a key revenue metric declined slightly as well.

Penney has been recovering from a catastrophic reinvention plan under former Chief Executive Ron Johnson that sent sales and profits into a free fall in 2012 and 2013. Business stabilized under Mike Ullman, who took the helm in 2013 after Johnson was pushed out. Under Marvin Ellison, who has been CEO since 2015, Penney is looking for new ways to increase sales while improving its e-commerce. Though annual sales still shrunk, Penney's profit picture is encouraging. Penney was able to pull in a $1-million profit for the full fiscal year, the first time it earned an annual profit since 2010.

Like other department stores, J.C. Penney is trying to adjust to changing shopping patterns and is joining other department stores like Macy's in shrinking their store footprint. Consumers are shifting their spending away from clothing and toward experiences like beauty treatments or toward furnishing their home. And when they do pick up clothing, it's more often at off-price stores or online as Amazon moves more into apparel.

Penney managed to outperform some of its department store rivals, which released results this week. Kohl's Corp. reported Wednesday a drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit as total sales declined. Revenue at stores opened at least a year dropped 2.2% in the quarter. Nordstrom Inc., the department store recently scolded by President Trump, reported late Wednesday a better-than-expected quarterly profit with help from strong sales online and at Nordstrom Rack. But at the Nordstrom brand, comparable store sales decreased 2.7%. Macy's, the nation's largest department store chain, says its earnings for the quarter that includes the holiday period dropped nearly 13% as results were dragged down by lower sales, store closures and other costs.

Given the environment, Penney wants to be less dependent on clothing, and is focusing its efforts on its home area and rolling out major appliances in it stores. It has expanded the Sephora beauty shops and is updating its beauty salons, now branded Salon by InStyle. It also is beefing up its store label brands like St. John's Bay. In the fourth quarter, top performing areas included home, Sephora, its salon business and fine jewelry.


The company is aiming to be more competitive in the digital arena. Penney is arming its store associates with mobile devices to help check out online shoppers who are picking up orders in the store.

"With a slimmed-down store portfolio, [J.C. Penney] will be able to focus on making its remaining stores more of a destination," Neil Saunders, managing director of retail research firm GlobalData Retail, said in a report. "This is essential, as while progress has been made on categories like home, other departments still require attention."

Penney's Ellison said he understands that closing stores will affect the lives of its employees and that is why the company decided to initiate a voluntary early retirement program. He expects to see a net increase in hiring, as the number of full-time workers expected to take advantage of the early retirement incentive will far exceed the number of full-time positions affected by the closures.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, J.C. Penney reported net income of $192 million, or 61 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 64 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Revenue totaled $3.96 billion in the period, down 0.9% from a year ago. Penney expects full-year earnings in a range of 40 cents to 65 cents per share.

Shares fell 12 cents to $6.74 before the market open on Friday. (ontinueReading

Study Builds Argument That Infections May Cause Autism

nbcnews.com - A study released Wednesday (Feb 22) supports the argument that infections during pregnancy may cause some cases of autism.

Women who had active infections with genital herpes early in pregnancy were twice as likely to have a child with autism than women who did not, a team of researchers found.

The findings, published in the journal mSphere, add to evidence that inflammation during pregnancy may affect the brain of a developing fetus.

"We believe the mother's immune response to HSV-2 (herpes simplex type 2) could be disrupting fetal central nervous system development, raising risk for autism," said Milada Mahic, a researcher at Columbia University who led the research team.

Viruses can infect a developing baby's brain — Zika is the most notorious now, but cytomegalovirus and rubella also cause severe birth defects, including brain damage.

But that's not what's going on with autism, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at Columbia who oversaw the research.

Most people, when they think about viral infections, think in terms of viruses going into tissue, killing cells, damaging cells," Lipkin told NBC News.

But Lipkin believes that, in fact, it's the mother's immune response — the inflammation — that's causing the damage. It may be that inflammatory chemicals such as cytokines are crossing the placenta and affecting the developing brain of the fetus, he said.

For the study, Lipkin's team started looking at women who were pregnant in Norway in the 1990s. They found 442 mothers of children with autism and compared them to 464 women who had babies without autism in the same months.

The women were tested for immune responses to four viruses known to cause birth defects: cytomegalovirus, rubella, herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1, which causes cold sores) and HSV-2, also known as genital herpes. The women were also tested for the toxoplasmosis parasite.

The women with high levels of antibodies to HSV-2 midway through their pregnancies were twice as likely to have a baby later diagnosed with autism. None of the other viruses seemed to affect autism risk.

"The elevated antibody levels to HSV-2 may indicate either recent primary infection or reactivation of latent infection," the researchers wrote.

Herpes infections are incurable and can flare up throughout a person's life. They are also very common, so having been infected with herpes does not mean a woman is going to have children with autism.

However, autism is becoming diagnosed more commonly. (ontinueReading

Study sees U.S. life expectancy falling further behind other countries

cbsnews.com - Life expectancy in the United States is already much lower than most other high-income countries and is expected to fall even further behind by 2030, new research published today predicts.

According to the most recent government figures, life expectancy at birth in the United States is 76.3 years for men and 81.2 years for women.

Using a number of forecasting models, researchers from the U.K. predict life expectancy in the U.S. will improve to 83.3 years for women and 79.5 years for men by the year 2030.

But despite these modest gains, the United States is still lagging behind other developed countries.

“The USA has the highest child and maternal mortality, homicide rate, and body-mass index of any high-income country, and was the first of high-income countries to experience a halt or possibly reversal of increase in height in adulthood, which is associated with higher longevity,” the authors write.

The United States also lacks universal health coverage available in other high-income countries and has the largest share of unmet health care needs due to financial costs.

The study, published in The Lancet, predicts and ranks life expectancy for 35 developed countries across Asia, North and Latin America, Australia, and Europe.

The findings predict life expectancy is likely to be highest for women in South Korea at 90.8 years, France at 88.6 years, and Japan at 88.4 years. For men, life expectancies will be highest in South Korea at 84.1 years, and Australia and Switzerland, both at 84 years.

The researchers say other nations, particularly the United States, could take lessons from these countries when it comes to improving life expectancies.

“For example, South Korea projected gains may be the result of continued improvements in economic status which has improved nutrition for children, access to health care and medical technology across the whole population,” study author James Bennett, PhD, of Imperial College London, told CBS News. “South Korea has lower disease risk factors — for example, they appear better at dealing with high blood pressure and have low rates of obesity. A very equitable society means that the whole population has benefitted from improvements.”

Unlike other studies, which typically rely on a single model to predict life expectancy, the researchers used a statistical technique used in weather forecasting to develop 21 models to predict life expectancy in the countries studied. (ontinueReading

Famine strikes in South Sudan, as people in four countries face starvation

LATimes.com - The South Sudanese government and humanitarian agencies on Monday (21) declared a famine in parts of the country, which has been devastated by three years of war.

The announcement comes as international aid agencies are overwhelmed by catastrophes unfolding in four countries.

The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan said Monday that 100,000 people “are already starving” in the country. In some areas in Unity state, in the north of the country, more than 30% of the population are suffering acute malnutrition.

U.N. humanitarian agencies warned that 275,000 children were at risk of starving to death unless there is a rapid increase in humanitarian aid.

“Famine has become a tragic reality in parts of South Sudan and our worst fears have been realized. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive,” said Serge Tissot, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s representative for South Sudan. Those affected “are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture. They’ve lost their livestock, even their farming tools. For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch.”

After more than two decades of war, South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 following a referendum. The world’s newest country, it relies on oil to survive, but inherited a shattered and neglected infrastructure. To make matters worse, billions of dollars went missing after independence because of rampant government corruption.

Just 18 months after independence, South Sudan plunged into a civil war that has destroyed the trust among different ethnic groups and undermined the fragile government.

The declaration of the famine followed a report by the government and humanitarian agencies called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which regularly examines several measures of famine, including mortality rates.

South Sudan’s National Bureau of Statistics chairman, Isaiah Chol Aruai, acknowledged the problem and called on the international community to scale up aid in coming months.

The U.S. Famine Early Warning Systems Network recently warned of an “unprecedented” need for emergency food assistance globally, with four famines or threatened famines. There is famine in parts of Nigeria and South Sudan, and famine threatened in Somalia and Yemen.

Internationally, the need is staggering: 70 million people in 45 countries will need food aid this year, according to the U.S. network.

The two worst crises — in Nigeria and South Sudan — are man-made, caused by fighting and insecurity. In other countries, such as Somalia, the worst drought in decades has led to successive crop failures and mass deaths of cows, goats, sheep and other animals.

Nearly 5 million South Sudanese, or 42% of the population, are facing dire hunger or starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security report, and the number of people in crisis is expected to rise to at least 5.5 million by midyear, when South Sudan’s lean season sets in.

The conflict in South Sudan has seen people flee their homes and has cut trade routes with neighboring countries such as Uganda and Kenya. Food prices have soared by 800%, putting food out of the reach of impoverished families. Thousands of refugees have sought shelter in camps in Uganda.

Unity state is particularly fragile, having been one of the states most affected by a civil war between rival factions of the governing party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. The fighting broke out in December 2013 and efforts to forge a peace deal collapsed last year.

The catastrophe is most severe in the towns of Leer, Koch and Mayendit, which have grappled with extreme hunger, along with fighting, massacres and gang rapes, over the last two years. In Leer and Koch, many people have had to survive on waterlily roots in recent years. Much of the violence has been carried out by government soldiers, along ethnic lines, according to human rights organizations, although both sides have committed atrocities.

In some of the more accessible areas of South Sudan, such as Bahr el Ghazal, international humanitarian assistance has helped to avert famine.

“It is of paramount importance that assistance not only continues in 2017, but scales up in the face of mounting food insecurity across the country,” the Integrated Food Security report says.

The report notes “a narrow window of opportunity during the dry season to pre-position and deliver humanitarian assistance to prevent drastic increases in food insecurity through the lean season that peaks in July.” It also cautions that the pressure on humanitarian resources could leave South Sudan with insufficient food aid to turn the famine around.

A further problem was lack of access for humanitarian agencies because of the conflict.

“This famine is man-made,” said Joyce Luma, country director for the World Food Program in South Sudan, which has seen its facilities looted on several occasions by armed groups. “WFP and the entire humanitarian community have been trying with all our might to avoid this catastrophe, mounting a humanitarian response of a scale that quite frankly would have seemed impossible three years ago.”

But she warned that without peace and security, “there is only so much that humanitarian assistance can achieve.” (ontinueReading

‘Not My Presidents Day’ rallies gear up across the USA

USAToday.com - A broad range of activists opposed to the month-old Trump administration used Monday's Presidents Day holiday to hold “Not My Presidents Day” rallies nationwide.

While most government workers, school employees and students enjoyed a day off due to the federal holiday, events took place in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and as many as two dozen other communities, organizers said.

In New York, hundreds of protesters gathered shortly after noon near Columbus Circle, home to a statue of Christopher Columbus and the Trump International Hotel and Tower, which was blockaded by police. At the southwest corner of Central Park, nearly opposite the hotel, protesters chanted “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” Thousands more gathered in the streets nearby in anticipation of being allowed to march south.

Many people carried placards — some of them strident, some amusing. “I don’t pay taxes to fund a golf weekend,” said one, while others pleaded that Americans “Just say no to fascist pigs” and “NO! We refuse to accept a fascist America.” (ontinueReading

Kraft withdraws offer to merge with Unilever

msnnews - U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co withdrew its proposal for a $143-billion merger with larger rival Unilever Plc, the companies said on Sunday, raising questions about Kraft's next steps and whether it could turn its focus to another target.

Kraft had made a surprise offer for Unilever in a bid to build a global consumer goods behemoth that was flatly rejected on Friday by Unilever, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap.

Kraft withdrew its offer because it felt it was too difficult to negotiate a deal following the public disclosure of its bid so early following its approach to Unilever, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations.

Some key concerns raised during talks included potential UK government scrutiny as well as differences between the companies' cultures and business models, one of the people said.

Kraft was forced to publicly disclose its offer to Unilever on Friday to comply with Britain's takeover regulations, after rumors of its approach to Unilever circulated among stock traders.

Under U.K. takeover rules, Kraft's public withdrawal of its offer precludes it from reviving takeover talks with Unilever for six months.

The companies did not provide details of the reason for ending the discussion in a statement.
A combination would be the third-biggest takeover in history and the largest acquisition of a UK-based company, according to Thomson Reuters data. The combined entity would have $82 billion in sales.

A merger would have been put under the microscope by UK regulators.

This weekend, Prime Minister Theresa May ordered top officials to investigate the proposed deal to see if it posed any potential threats to the country's economic interests, the Financial Times reported.

May has been adamant that the government should play a more active role in vetting proposed foreign acquisitions of UK companies. She had previously singled out Kraft's 2010 acquisition of another British household name, Cadbury Plc, as an example of a deal that should have been blocked.

A deal for Unilever would have marked the next installment of Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital Management Inc's longstanding strategy of buying up food companies and slashing costs.

In 2013, 3G teamed up with billionaire investor Warren Buffett to acquire Heinz and then purchased Kraft two years later. It is now the second-largest shareholder in Kraft, behind Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Under 3G, Kraft's margins have widened to among the highest in the industry. They are around 30 percent, compared to 15 percent at Unilever.

The breakdown in deal talks sparked speculation among analysts and investors about whether Kraft might attempt to purchase another large consumer goods company as a backup plan.

Its bid for Unilever, where more than 60 percent of sales come from home and personal care products, signals a willingness to make big buys outside of its historic area of focus - food - said Sanford Bernstein analyst Ali Dibadj.

He cited Colgate-Palmolive Co as one potential target, noting that its stock popped 4 percent Friday on news that Kraft was eyeing Unilever.

(ontinueReading

Zealandia: Is there an eighth continent under New Zealand?

BBC.com - You think you know your seven continents? Think again, as there's a new contender hoping to join that club.

Say hello to Zealandia, a huge landmass almost entirely submerged in the southwest Pacific.

It's not a complete stranger, you might have heard of its highest mountains, the only bits showing above water: New Zealand.

Scientists say it qualifies as a continent and have now made a renewed push for it to be recognised as such.

In a paper published in the Geological Society of America's Journal,researchers explain that Zealandia measures five million sq km (1.9m sq miles) which is about two thirds of neighbouring Australia.

Some 94% of that area is underwater with only a few islands and three major landmasses sticking out above the surface: New Zealand's North and South Islands and New Caledonia.

You might think being above water is crucial to making the cut as a continent, but the researchers looked at a different set of criteria, all of which are met by the new kid in town.

- elevation above the surrounding area

- distinctive geology 

- a well-defined area 

- a crust thicker than the regular ocean floor

The main author of the article, New Zealand geologist Nick Mortimer, said scientists have been researching data to make the case for Zealandia for more than two decades.

"The scientific value of classifying Zealandia as a continent is much more than just an extra name on a list," the researchers explained.

"That a continent can be so submerged yet unfragmented" makes it useful for "exploring the cohesion and breakup of continental crust".

So how then to get Zealandia into the canon of continents? Should text books authors get nervous again? After all, just a few years ago, Pluto got kicked off the list of planets, changing what had been taught in schools for decades.

There is in fact no scientific body that formally recognises continents. So it could only change over time if future research accepts Zealandia on par with the rest so that eventually we might be learning about eight, not seven, continents. (ontinueReading

Vatican Pope appears to back anti-Trump protests in letter condemning populism

Via www.theguardian.com - Pope Francis has offered his unequivocal support to grassroots organisers and activists who are fighting for social justice, migrants, and environmentalism, saying he “reaffirms” their choice to fight against tyranny amid a “gutting of democracies”.

“As Christians and all people of good will, it is for us to live and act at this moment. It is a grave responsibility, since certain present realities, unless effectively dealt with, are capable of setting off processes of dehumanisation which would then be hard to reverse,” the pontiff wrote in a letter that was read to organisers this week.

The remarks can be viewed as a clear endorsement by the Argentinian pope of resistance against populist and xenophobic political movements. While he did not name Donald Trump, and stressed his remarks were not targeted at any individual politician, the letter, read at the opening of the US Regional World Meeting of Popular Movements in Modesto, California, seem to speak directly to protests against the Republican president.

“The direction taken beyond this historic turning point – the ways in which this worsening crisis gets resolved – will depend on people’s involvement and participation and, largely, on yourselves, the popular movements,” Francis wrote.

The letter was read aloud by a close ally of the pope, Cardinal Peter Turkson, who attended the meeting.

In the letter, Francis condemned the growth of populist and xenophobic movements around the world, saying they posed a “grave danger for humanity”. He also criticised leaders who rely on “fear, insecurity, quarrels, and even people’s justified indignation, in order to shift the responsibility for all these ills on to a ‘non-neighbour’”.

“Sooner or later, the moral blindness of this indifference comes to light, like when a mirage dissipates,” he wrote. “The wounds are there, they are a reality. The unemployment is real, the violence is real, the corruption is real, the identity crisis is real, the gutting of democracies is real.”

He offered praise to the activists who are organising in opposition to those threats. “I know that you have committed yourselves to fight for social justice, to defend our Sister Mother Earth and to stand alongside migrants. I want to reaffirm your choice,” he wrote.

The remarks would not be the first time Francis has appeared to take aim at the US president. The pope first criticised then-candidate Trump when he called for the building of a border wall between Mexico and the US, with Francis calling it an idea that was not "Christian". (ontinuereading

Not just food: Leading US science group backs genetically modifying human embryos

Via YahooNews:

Washington (AFP) - An influential US science advisory committee this week said genetic modification of human embryos should be allowed in the future to eliminate diseases, sparking new debate on this controversial topic.

The report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) caused concern among some researchers who fear that genetic tools could be used to boost certain people's intelligence or create people with particular physical traits.

"Clinical trials for genome editing of the human germline - adding, removing or replacing DNA base pairs in gametes or early embryos - could be permitted in the future," said the report, released Tuesday.

"But only," it added, "for serious conditions under stringent oversight."

The emergence of inexpensive and accurate gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR/Cas9, has fueled "an explosion of new research opportunities and potential clinical applications, both heritable and nonheritable, to address a wide range of human health issues," the report said.

The committee of international experts was convened to examine scientific, ethical and governance issues surrounding human genome editing.

The experts noted that clinical trials on gene editing for certain nonhereditary traits are already under way.

"These therapies affect only the patient, not any offspring, and should continue for treatment and prevention of disease and disability, using the existing ethical norms and regulatory framework for development of gene therapy," it said.

The group said using science to enhance human traits, such as physical strength, "should not be allowed at this time, and that broad public input and discussion should be solicited before allowing clinical trials for somatic genome editing for any purpose other than treating or preventing disease or disability."

In 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Bioethics Committee called for a halt to human germline editing, out of concern that the technique could lead to a resurgence of eugenics, or attempts to improve the genetic quality of the human race.

More than 40 countries have signed an international convention banning the use of gene-editing to modify the human race.

In the United States, federal funds cannot be used for editing DNA and human reproductive cells.

"The concept of altering the human germline in embryos for clinical purposes has been debated over many years from many different perspectives, and has been viewed almost universally as a line that should not be crossed," said a 2015 statement from National institutes of Health Director Francis Collins.

Reacting to the new report, some experts said that times are changing rapidly, and that the NAS aims to advance discussion of the science while ensuring ethical oversight of what could be a promising technology.

The report "now takes this debate an important step further," said Bruce Whitelaw, professor of animal biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh.

"It is a triumph of applying caution -- with the report detailing stringent, overarching principles that should be followed -- over premature prohibition of what is an exciting technology for society." (ontinueReading

Jackpot: Astronomers find 60 new planets, including a 'super Earth'

usatoday.com - A group of international researchers hit the planetary jackpot by spotting 60 new planets, including a “super Earth.”

The team also found evidence of 54 other planets, bringing the total of new exoplanets to over 100, according to a statement from the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom, which participated in the study.

The “super Earth,” called Gliese 411b is described as a “hot super-Earth with a rocky surface.” The planet orbits a star called Gliese 411, and is located in the fourth nearest star system to the Sun, according to a statement from the university.

Mikko Tuomi from the University of Hertfordshire’s Centre for Astrophysics said that when researchers look at the nearest stars, all of them “appear to have planets orbiting them.”

“This is something astronomers were not convinced about, even as little as five years ago,” he said in a statement. “These new planets also help us better understand the formation processes of planetary systems and provide interesting targets for future efforts to image the planets directly.”

The planets were discovered based on observations, which were taken over 20 years by U.S. astronomers who used the Keck-I telescope in Hawaii as part of the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey, according to the statement. Researchers who took part in the survey released the data to the public earlier this week, allowing citizen scientists to begin searching for exoplanets from their couches.

Over the course of the 20 year survey, researchers obtained almost 61,000 observations of 1,600 stars, according to a statement The Carnegie Institution of Science. You can find the full database here.

(Source) 

China, India account for half world's pollution deaths in 2015: study

Reuters - China and India accounted for more than half of the total number of global deaths attributable to air pollution in 2015, researchers said in a study published on Tuesday.

The U.S.-based Health Effects Institute (HEI) found that air pollution caused more than 4.2 million early deaths worldwide in 2015, making it the fifth highest cause of death, with about 2.2 million deaths in China and India.

The institute's study, the first of its kind, was based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project, a database backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that tracks the role that behavioral, dietary and environmental factors play in deaths across 195 countries.

New evidence and methodologies mean that the estimate is significantly higher than the figure published by the World Health Organization last year, which put the number of global air pollution-related deaths in 2012 at 3 million, HEI said.

The institute, which has also launched an online database showing the global impact of pollution on health (www.stateofglobalair.org), said 92 percent of the world's population lives in areas with unhealthy air.

Air pollution has been linked to higher rates of cancer, stroke and heart disease, as well as chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma.

China and India, the world's two most populous countries, each accounted for 1.1 million deaths, the findings showed, but China is pushing ahead when it comes to taking action, HEI president Dan Greenbaum told Reuters.

"(India) has got a longer way to go, and they still appear to have some ministers who say there is not a strong connection between air pollution and mortality in spite of quite a lot of evidence," he said.

A spokesman for India's environment ministry could not be reached for comment, but minister Anil Madhav Dave said last week that "there is no conclusive data available" on the link between pollution and mortality, media reported.

China's environment ministry did not respond to a request to comment on whether the estimate of 1.1 million deaths was accurate.

Though China has launched a campaign to improve air quality, authorities have been reluctant to draw direct links between air pollution and mortality, with the health ministry saying it had "no data" linking smog to higher incidences of cancer.

"It is currently too early to draw conclusions about the extent of the impact of smog on health, especially its long-term impact on the body," a ministry spokesman told media during a press briefing in January.

In a long-term national healthcare plan published last October, the government acknowledged the link between health and pollution, and pledged to assess the precise impacts as well as boost environmental monitoring capabilities. (ontinueReading

Failed Sears, Kmart join other retailers in dropping Trump-branded items

washingtonpost.com - The list of companies dropping products that carry the Trump name grew this weekend, with two major U.S. retailers announcing that they’re no longer selling Trump Home items online.

Reuters reported Saturday that Sears Holdings and subsidiary Kmart will discontinue online sales of 31 items from the Trump Home collection, which includes lines of living room and bedroom furniture, lamps and chandeliers.

Brian Hanover, a spokesman for Illinois-based Sears Holdings, said the decision was made “amid a streamlining effort,” Reuters reported.

“As part of the company’s initiative to optimize its online product assortment, we constantly refine that assortment to focus on our most profitable items,” Hanover said, adding that neither Sears nor Kmart carry Trump Home products in their retail stores.

Hanover didn’t respond to a call and email from The Washington Post on Sunday. The Trump Organization also has not responded to an inquiry from The Post.

It’s unclear which 31 Trump Home items will be removed from the companies’ online stores.

As of Sunday, 14 Trump Home products sold by third-party vendors remain on the Sears website, all but one listed with discounted prices. A US$942 Trump Home mirror is being sold for US$628. Another mirror with an original selling price of US$818 is now at US$598.

Only two Trump Home lamps, also sold by third-party vendors, are on Kmart’s website Sunday, both with significantly lower prices.

The news comes shortly after other retailers decided to partially or completely distance themselves from the Trump brand.

In the past week or so, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Belk stopped selling Ivanka Trump’s name-branded line of clothing, shoes and jewelry amid an aggressive campaign to boycott the Trump brand.

The companies did not directly address the campaign, called Grab Your Wallet, which has been urging shoppers to boycott retailers that carry products with the Trump name. But their statements suggest that the move was driven by consumer feedback and how well the products sell.

Nordstrom, for instance, said the company’s decision was based on the products’ performance, not politics. (ontinueReading

Change!: German special assembly elects Frank-Walter Steinmeier as president

DeutscheWelle.com - A special 1,260-member assembly on Sunday confirmed general expectations and elected Steinmeier as the new ceremonial head of state of the German Federal Republic. He will succeed current President Joachim Gauck, who decided to step down after a single five-year term in office, citing his advanced age of 77.

In his acceptance speech, Steinmeier called Germany "an anchor for hope," saying that the country should take responsibility and serve as a role model for other countries. "[Germany] inspires others to be brave, not because everything is well here, but because we've shown how much a country can improve," he said.

Steinmeier indirectly addressed the surge of right-wing parties and anti-EU sentiments across Europe by asking Germans to defend freedom and democracy in the EU. "[These values] are not invulnerable, but I am firmly convinced that they are strong," he said.

Though the ballot included four other candidates for the largely symbolic but morally important position, Steinmeier was by far the favorite candidate, drawing support from across Germany's political spectrum. Alongside backing from his own Social Democratic Party (SPD), Steinmeier also received endorsements ahead of the election from Chancellor Angela Merkel and her conservative bloc (CDU/CSU), as well as from representatives in the Green and Free Democratic (FDP) parties.

Germans do not directly elect their president. Instead, a special assembly consisting of the 630 parliamentarians in the Bundestag, the lower legislature, and an equal number of representatives from Germany's 16 federal states cast their votes for the presidential candidates.

It is not always the case that the different parties unify behind a single presidential candidate, especially in a parliamentary election year. Steinmeier's election is expected to be a final moment of unity before the current grand coalition partners, SPD and CDU/CSU, begin campaigning in earnest against one another in an attempt to secure a parliamentary majority in upcoming legislative elections on September 24. (ontinueReading

Apple CEO Tim Cook believes augmented reality is 'a big idea like the smartphone

(BusinessInsider.com) -  Nobody outside of Apple knows what its next big product is.

But Apple CEO Tim Cook continues to drop hints that the company is investing and sees huge potential in augmented reality.

That's what techies call the technology that integrates computer graphics and the internet with the real world to let you see virtual objects in real environments. The end game of this technology is a pair of smart glasses, although current applications like Pokémon Go mostly use smartphones.

Cook compared AR to the smartphone in an interview with The Independent's David Phelan published on Friday:

"I regard it as a big idea like the smartphone. The smartphone is for everyone. We don't have to think the iPhone is about a certain demographic, or country or vertical market; it's for everyone. I think AR is that big. It's huge. I get excited because of the things that could be done that could improve a lot of lives and be entertaining."

But Cook also threw cold water on the idea that Apple is preparing a specific AR product like the smart glasses that have been recently rumored.

"I view AR like I view the silicon here in my iPhone," he said. "It's not a product per se — it's a core technology."

This could mean that Apple would include AR technology in some of its apps, such as the camera app, and its underlying technology. Apple has purchased several AR startups in the past few years.

"This is something you know it's coming," Loup Ventures founder Gene Munster previously told Business Insider. "The only other times they've talked like this is before the iPhone came out, they started to indicate they could do something in the phone market. Before the Apple Watch came out they talked about wearables and the wrist being a better option."

It's not the first time Cook has spoken at length about the potential he sees in AR. At an appearance in October, he laid out why he thinks is a superior bet to other immersive technologies like virtual reality, and said a "significant portion" of people around the world would "have AR experiences every day."

"AR is going to take a while because there are some really hard technology challenges there," Cook said in October. "But it will happen, it will happen in a big way, and we will wonder when it does, how we ever lived without it. Like we wonder how we lived without our phone today." (ontinueReading..

Party for everybody: Iran celebrates 1979 Islamic Revolution with chants against U.S.

usatoday.com - TEHRAN, Iran — Iranians on Friday Feb 10 marked the anniversary of the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution with nationwide celebrations and mass rallies that saw people step on large U.S. flags laid out on the streets while President Hassan Rouhani called the new American administration “a problem.”

This year, the anniversary came against the backdrop of remarks by President Trump, who has already engaged in a war of words with Iran’s leadership and put Tehran “on notice” over its recent ballistic missile test.

At the Tehran rallies Friday, demonstrators chanted traditional slogans against the United States and Israel, and later, hundreds of thousands marched toward the city’s central Azadi Square, where Rouhani addressed the crowds, telling them that Iran will strongly answer any threat from its enemies.

“All of them should know that they must talk to the Iranian nation with respect and dignity,” Rouhani declared. “Our nation will strongly answer to any threat. (Iranians) will resist before enemies until the end.”

Rouhani called Iran the home of “lions” but said the country does not seek hostility. “We are not after tensions in the region and the world. We are united in the face of bullying and any threat.”

Many of the marchers carried the Iranian flag, others had banners and posters with revolutionary slogans. Printed U.S. flags and pictures of current and former U.S. presidents lay scattered on the streets — so they could be trampled by the marchers.

Iran and the U.S. have not had diplomatic relations since 1979, when Iranian students stormed the American Embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

Friday’s rallies commemorated Feb. 11 of that year, when followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ousted the U.S.-backed Shah Reza Pahlavi. The United States helped orchestrate the 1953 coup that overthrew Iran’s popular prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, which brought Pahlavi to power and set the stage for decades of mistrust between the countries.

Some of the posters distributed in English on Friday read: “Thanks to American people for supporting Muslims.”

Another one with a picture of Trump said: “Thanks Mr. Trump … for revealing the face of the U.S.” — a reference to remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, earlier this week.

Khamenei said on Tuesday that the “newcomer” Trump has shown the “real face” of the United States. He spoke after Trump tweeted — following a ballistic missile test by Iran — that Iranians were “playing with fire,” saying they “don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President (Barack) Obama was to them. Not me!”

Trump has repeatedly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, in which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but he has not said what he plans to do about it.

His administration said Iran was “on notice” over the missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.

In Tehran, some of the demonstrators threw balls and darts targeting pictures of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Others burned an American flag. The semi-official ILNA news agency reported that an Israeli flag was also burned.(ontinueReading

Change!: Record numbers of refugees fleeing United States.. for Canada

Independent.co.uk - Record numbers of refugees in the US are fleeing to Canada as uncertainty about Donald Trump's immigration policies continues.

The Welcome Place refugee agency in the central province of Manitoba, said it had helped 91 people since November, more than the total number of claimants it normally sees in a year.

Most braved freezing conditions to cross the border, walking miles through snow-covered prairie fields into Canada so they could avoid official border checks.

Maggie Yeboah, president of the Ghanaian Union of Manitoba, said that two men lost all their fingers to frostbite in December and nearly froze to death.

"We haven't had something before like this," she said. "We don't know what to do."

She added that 27 Ghanaian men had walked to Manitoba from the United States since last summer. Her organisation helps refugees access medical attention and housing.

Charities are now warning that an even greater influx could be on the horizon after Donald Trump issued an executive order temporarily suspending America's refugee resettlement programme and permanently barring Syrian refugees from entering the US.

The measures, which have since been suspended, also barred citizens from Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria, from travelling to the US. It resulted in travellers being detained or deported even if they had a valid visa or green card.

"They will make a dash for Canada, whether they are going to go through cold weather to die or not," said Abdikheir Ahmed, a Somali immigrant in Manitoba's capital Winnipeg who helps refugees make immigration claims.

More than 7,000 refugee applicants entered Canada in 2016 through land ports of entry from the United States, up 63 per cent from the previous year, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Over 2,000 more entered "irregularly" during a similar time period, without official authorization. Some crossed unmonitored fields along the 5,525 border - the longest in the world between two countries.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to admitting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees when he took office in 2015. (ontinueReading

US: Trump's terror list claims slammed by families of Mia Ayliffe-Chung, Curtis Cheng

Enjoy the train wreck

abc.net.au - The families of British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung and police accountant Curtis Cheng have hit out at US President Donald Trump for claiming their loved ones died in terror attacks ignored by Western media.

The Trump administration referred to both Ms Ayliffe-Chung and Mr Cheng's death in a list of 78 alleged terror attacks, which was intended to back up the new President's claim the media has under-reported attacks inspired by the Islamic State militant group.

Ms Ayliffe-Chung's mother Rosie Ayliffe, 53, has written an open letter to Mr Trump criticising his "vilification" of Muslims, while Mr Cheng's son has told the ABC it is unfair for governments to "drag" affected families through the incidents again.

Ms Ayliffe-Chung and Tom Jackson, 30, were fatally stabbed in front of about 30 people at Shelley's Backpackers in Home Hill, south of Townsville, last year.

A 29-year-old French national, Smail Ayad, was charged over the deaths.

In her letter to Mr Trump, Ms Ayliffe criticised the US administration for using her daughter's death to demonise Muslims.

"This vilification of whole nation states and their people based on religion is a terrifying reminder of the horror that can ensue when we allow ourselves to be led by ignorant people into darkness and hatred," she wrote.

Ms Ayliffe said she wanted to "point out the facts" about what happened to her daughter.

"Ayad was not an Islamic fundamentalist, he wasn't even a practicing Muslim," she told the ABC.

"It's a retrograde step on Trump's part. Queensland Police have also rejected the claims, saying the crime was not race or religion." (ontinueReading

U.S. Trade Gap Widens in 2016 as Exports, Imports Both Shrink

Bloomberg- The U.S. trade deficit widened last year to the biggest since 2012 as exports fell more than imports, though a narrowing gap in December suggests demand is stabilizing overseas for American goods.

For all of 2016, the deficit increased 0.4 percent to US$502.3 billion, including a wider annual gap with Mexico and a smaller one with China, Commerce Department figures showed Tuesday. The monthly shortfall shrank 3.2 percent to $44.3 billion. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a deficit of $45 billion in December.

While a bigger annual deficit reflects President Donald Trump’s concern that other nations are benefiting from jobs and manufacturing at America’s expense, an improving economy makes it tough to shrink the gap as steady U.S. consumer spending drives imports. December had the strongest monthly gain in exports in four years, while imports rose the most since June.

Bloomberg survey estimates for the December goods-and-services trade deficit ranged from $42 billion to $46 billion. The November gap was revised to $45.7 billion from an initially reported $45.2 billion. For all of last year, exports declined 2.3 percent, while imports fell 1.8 percent.

Exports in December increased 2.7 percent, the most since September 2012, to $190.7 billion, on higher sales of commercial aircraft and industrial supplies, the Commerce Department data showed.

Imports rose 1.5 percent to $235 billion on purchases of motor vehicles and materials used in manufacturing.

Excluding petroleum, the trade shortfall narrowed to $38.2 billion from $39.7 billion.

After eliminating the influence of prices, which renders the numbers used to calculate gross domestic product, the trade deficit shrank to $62.3 billion in December from $63.9 billion in the prior month.

Net exports subtracted 1.7 percentage points from fourth-quarter GDP, the most since the second quarter of 2010, figures showed last month. The wider trade deficit followed a spike in soybean shipments that boosted exports in the July-to-September period. The economy grew at a 1.9 percent annualized rate last quarter.

The trade data also showed the deficit with China, the world’s second-biggest economy, shrank to $347 billion from $367.2 billion. The shortfall with Mexico expanded to a five-year high of $63.2 billion, from $60.7 billion in 2015. (ontinueReading

Facebook, Google, others launch drive against fake news in France

Reuters - Social media companies Facebook, Google and a group of news organizations launched an initiative on Monday to tackle fake news stories in France, with the media in the spotlight as the country's presidential election approaches.

Facebook said it would work with several leading French news organizations, including Agence France-Presse, BFM TV, and newspapers L'Express and Le Monde to ensure that false news items were not published on its platform.

Google also said it was part of the initiative, dubbed "Cross Check" by the partners.

Facebook has faced criticism that it did not do enough to prevent false information being republished on its platform during last year's U.S presidential campaign, and in response has set up measures to try to tackle the problem.

There have been similar concerns that people could disseminate false information on Facebook in the build-up to the French election, which takes place in April and May.

In the United States, Facebook has said users would in future find it easier to flag fake articles as a hoax, and added that it will work with organizations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories.

Last month, Facebook also set up an initiative against fake news in Germany, where government officials had expressed concerns that false stories and hate speech online could influence a parliamentary election in September in which chancellor Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term in office. (ontinueReading

UKGBNI to mark Queen Elizabeth II's record 65-year reign

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II is poised for another historic milestone, an unprecedented 65 years on the throne.

But Buckingham Palace says Britain's longest-serving monarch plans to spend Monday's ceremonies far from the spotlight in somber contemplation of her late father.

Official commemorations of Elizabeth's Sapphire Jubilee are expected to feature ceremonial cannon fusillades at a central London park and at the riverside Tower of London as well as a procession of military horses pulling World War I-era artillery pieces.

But the 90-year-old monarch is staying 110 miles (175 kilometers) to the north at her Sandringham House estate in Norfolk, where her father, George VI, died of lung cancer at age 56 on Feb. 6, 1952, after a 15-year reign.
Elizabeth surpassed Queen Victoria as Britain's longest-serving monarch in 2015.

Nagorno Karabakh Conflict a Threat to Security of Armenia, Azerbaijan

Via asbarez.com

MOSCOW, Russia—“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses a direct threat to the security, stability and future development of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated during a press briefing on Friday.

She stressed that there are no alternative to a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict, and hailed public initiatives spearheading the conflict resolution. “We highly appreciate the role of public diplomacy in facilitating the resolution of conflicts. The most important mission is to root in social circles of the conflicting parties awareness of inevitability of peaceful solution for mutually acceptable negotiations. We believe that any initiative should be aimed at precisely that, and welcome any public initiatives that have set themselves this very specific mission,” she said.

When asked to comment on the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s statement regarding the Karabakh conflict as “a threat to stability in the region and U.S. national security interests,” Zakharova refrained from answering.

During his Senate hearing, Senator Ed Markey asked Tillerson to comment on the stability in the Caucasus through peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well the holding Azerbaijan accountable for ceasefire violations. The then unsworn Secretary of State advocated for a peaceful resolution to the Artsakh conflict. “If confirmed, I will work with the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a peaceful, long-term solution that allows for stability and prosperity in the region,” he said. “The first step in this process must be to build trust by ensuring that all agreements between the parties are respected,” he concluded. (ontinueReading

* * * *

Related Juice:

FM: With Armenia’s destructive view, ensuring peace in region is difficult (AzerNews.az)

Armenia Explained (GeographyNow!) 

Azerbaijan Explained (GegraphyNow!)

U.S. job growth accelerates in January, but wages lag

Reuters - U.S. job growth surged more than expected in January as construction firms and retailers ramped up hiring, which likely gives the Trump administration a head start as it seeks to boost the economy and employment.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs last month, the largest gain in four months, the Labor Department said on Friday. But the unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.8 percent and wages rose only by three cents, suggesting that there was still some slack in the labor market.

Revisions to November and December showed the economy created 39,000 fewer jobs than previously reported. Still, the labor market continues to tighten, which could soon spur a faster pace of wage growth. Federal Reserve officials view the labor market as being at or near full employment.

Prices for U.S. government bonds rose as traders focused on the disappointing wage growth, which was seen keeping the Fed on a gradual path of interest rate increases. The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies.

U.S. stocks were trading higher. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 175,000 last month and the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.7 percent.

"While there's a great deal of anticipation surrounding steps that President Trump and the GOP-led Congress are expected to take to boost the economy, that's going to take more time," said Mark Hamrick a senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com in Washington.

President Donald Trump vowed during last year's election campaign to deliver 4 percent annual gross domestic product growth, largely on the back of a plan to cut taxes, reduce regulations, increase infrastructure spending and renegotiate trade deals in the United States' favor.

Although details on the policy proposals remain sketchy, consumer and business confidence have surged in the wake of Trump's election victory last November. But with the economy near full employment, some economists are skeptical of the 4 percent growth pledge. Annual GDP growth has not exceeded 2.6 percent since the 2007-08 recession. (ontinueReading

President Rodrigo Duterte announces plan to draft military into war on drugs

NewsWeek.com - The Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he would draft the military to lead his deadly war on drug gangs, promising to kill more “son of a bitch” drug addicts.

“I'm taking in the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and raising the issue of drugs as a national security threat so that I will call on all the armed forces to assist,” Duterte said in a speech in the southern city of Davao.

The strongman leader, who won the presidency last year on the back of a campaign pledge to fight crime, said illegal drugs had become a national security threat.

More than 7,000 people have been killed in Duterte’s campaign since July 2016, with around 2,500 killed in shootouts during raids according to police.

Conflicting accounts from police and activists point to either vigilantes and gang violence or summary executions respectively.

Duterte said Monday that the campaign would be ongoing until “the last day of my term” but criticized the police force fighting the crackdown, claiming it was “corrupt to the core.”

The Philippines’ top police official Ronald dela Rosa said he was suspending the police’s role in the campaign after a scandal involving the murder of a South Korean businessman at the country’s police headquarters last year. The officers responsible for the killing claimed the businessman was still alive in a bid to obtain a ransom from his family.

But Duterte issued a scathing retort to accusations of human rights abuses among his forces on Thursday. “You bleed for those son of a bitch. How many? 3,000? I will kill more if only to get rid of drugs and this campaign," he said. "I thought that would finish it in six months.”

His comments follow Amnesty International’s report this week condemning Duterte’s war on drugs, which suggested the "deliberate, widespread and systematic killings of alleged drug offenders" may constitute "crimes against humanity." The rights group said Filipino police had shot dead people who posed no immediate threat, had paid hitmen to kill drug addicts, had stolen from those they had killed, and had fabricated official incident reports. Officials deny the accusations.

“The police are behaving like the criminal underworld that they are supposed to be enforcing the law against,” Amnesty said. (SourceLink)

Vatican worried about Trump immigration order

Reuters - The Vatican said on Wednesday (Feb. 1) it was worried about U.S. President Donald Trump's moves on immigration, in the Holy See's first comment since his executive order banning travel into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries.

"Certainly there is worry because we are messengers of another culture, that of openness," the Vatican's deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, told an Italian Catholic television station in answer to a question about Trump's order.

Becciu, who ranks third in the Vatican hierarchy, was asked about the executive order as well as Trump's promise to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.

"Pope Francis, in fact, insists on the ability to integrate those who arrive in our societies and cultures," he told TV2000.

Some Roman Catholic leaders in the United States have criticized Trump's executive order. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said on Sunday it was "a dark moment in U.S. history" and that it was "contrary to both Catholic and American values".

Last February, while returning from a trip to Mexico, Pope Francis said then-candidate Trump's view about building walls was "not Christian". (ontinueReading