Man accused of smothering ailing wife with pillow says he knew it
The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Michel Cadotte, on trial for second-degree murder in the death of his ailing wife, said Tuesday he fully understood what he was doing when he smothered her with a pillow.Under cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Genevieve Langlois, Cadotte, 57, said he knew what he was doing before, during and after the death of his wife, Jocelyne Lizotte.The defence stated during its opening statement to the jury last week that Cadotte was so depressed and sleep deprived at the time that “he didn’t have the freedom of choice” and that his state of mind does not support a conviction for murder.Cadotte testified Tuesday that he realized his actions would “cause the death” of Lizotte, 60, and that doing so was a crime.He admitted he understood the consequences of such a crime and added that he asked staff at the long-term care centre where Lizotte died to call 911, knowing it would lead to his arrest. He then waited for police in her room.Cadotte said Tuesday that on the day of the killing he was frustrated to see his wife was not receiving adequate care, which he said triggered the desire to end her life.Lizotte was found dead in her bed in a Montreal care centre on Feb. 20, 2017. Cadotte testified Monday that when he arrived to visit her that day, he was saddened and angry to find her hunched over in a geriatric chair with no head support. He said he cried for much of the visit as he tried to feed her.When she fell asleep, he said he moved her to her bed. It was as he was trying with difficulty to place a pillow under her head that he placed it over her face and suffocated her, he said. He maintained he could not stand to see her suffering.The defence plans to call a psychiatrist and a psychologist to testify Wednesday about Cadotte’s mental state at the time of the alleged crime.(Cogeco Nouvelles)
LONGUEUIL, Que. – Shares of Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. fell in trading Tuesday after the company announced a friendly deal to acquire Alterra Power Corp. worth $1.1 billion, including debt.Innergex shares (TSX:INE) were down 71 cents or about five per cent at $14.02 in late-morning trading, while Alterra (TSX:AXY) was up $2.77 or about 55 per cent at $7.83 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.The green energy companies announced Monday afternoon that Innergex would acquire Alterra for $8.25 per share under a deal that will see shareholders receive 25 per cent of the purchase price in cash and 75 per cent in shares of Innergex.Alterra shareholders will hold a 19 per cent stake in the combined company and one member of the current Alterra board will join the Innergex board once the transaction is completed.The transaction requires approval by a two-thirds majority vote by Alterra shareholders at a meeting that is expected to be held in December.In addition, the deal is subject to court and certain regulatory approvals in Canada and U.S., key third-party consents and other customary closing conditions.
Safari 5.1.4 : plus de performances et moins de bugsApple continue ses mises à jour et, après iTunes et iOS, Safari 5.1.4 apporte son lot d’améliorations.Il ne s’agit que d’une mise à jour de maintenance. Elle apporte son lot de corrections, dont notamment la préservation des liens dans les pages enregistrées au format PDF. Mais aussi la résolution d’un problème pouvant assombrir l’écran avec une vidéo HTML5, la possibilité de prolonger l’utilisation de cookies existants après le passage en navigation privée et la résolution d’un problème empêchant la fonction d’effacement des traces de tout effacer. L’amélioration des performances JavaScript peut atteindre 11 % par rapport à la version précédente. À lire aussiMaladie de Charcot : symptômes, causes, traitement, où en est on ?Le seul point surprenant, en fait, est l’attitude transparente d’Apple. La firme ne conserve, heureusement, pas ses mauvaises habitudes prises lors de la comparaison entre l’iPad 3 et le Tegra 3, où aucun détail du protocole de test n’avait été donné, empêchant Nvidia de se défendre. Ici, on apprend que le protocole de test a été conduit au mois de janvier avec SunSpider 0.9.1 et Mac OS X 10.7.3 sur un iMac 21,5 pouces équipé d’un Core i5-2500S, d’une Radeon HD 6770M et de 4 Go de mémoire vive. Certes pas de l’information grand public, mais les spécialistes apprécieront. Le nouveau Safari, pour Mac OS X et Windows, est disponible dès à présent, en mise à jour automatique, comme en téléchargement manuel.Le 15 mars 2012 à 11:15 • Emmanuel Perrin
Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian’s editor emeritus. His column of personal opinion appears the first Saturday of every month. Reach him at lounews1@gmail.com. Yep, 2017 is now a bit of a blur, and most of us are happy to begin the new year with a clean canvas.OK, OK, a few of us have some lingering stuff still hanging around. Like that leftover Christmas turkey in the fridge. And all those bowl game bets you made on Pac-12 football teams. What were you thinking? Oh my!County government has a pretty big leftover as well. An empty, permanent county manager’s position. Mind you, that’s the top dog in the day-to-day running of county government. Now, for those of you paying too much attention to the miserable weather (relax, July isn’t that far away) the county manager’s position came open when county councilors bounced Mark McCauley out of the job in May.McCauley, by the way, landed a nice job as the director of Jefferson County’s Central Services Department. I contacted him a few days ago, and he’s happy: “Job is great, Port Townsend is great, new house is great.” So he’s doing fine.But the county is still looking for a permanent successor. Now, it’s not like county government has gone without. They hired — on an interim basis — a guy named Jim Rumpeltes. I don’t know Rumpeltes at all, but I do know that if this were the Mafia and someone left a big mess of bodies and blood, they’d bring in a guy known as “The Cleaner” and baddabing, baddaboom, stuff is sparkling. Now, this ain’t the Mafia, but Rumpeltes’ main job was to evaluate what McCauley left behind and create a sort of road map on how to clean things up.
Vancouver Public Schools and Clark County Public Health are investigating lead paint found at Hough Elementary School.In a letter sent to parents last week, the district announced that Public Health investigators responded May 2 to a citizen complaint of mold at the west Vancouver campus. The district said it’s addressing the mold. But while Public Health staff were at the school, 1900 Daniels St. in Uptown Village, they noticed chipping paint around classroom windows and were concerned about the possibility of lead-based paint.Public Health staff returned May 9 and screened for lead. Tests came back positive for the heavy metal in the paint chips.Vancouver Public Schools will contract with an environmental service company to determine how much lead is present and where in the school. District spokeswoman Pat Nuzzo said the district has not signed off on that contract and so could not name the company or how much mitigation will cost. The district will also conduct a deep cleaning of the school.Dr. Alan Melnick, Public Health director and Clark County health officer, said the presence of lead “is always concerning.”“Lead does not belong in the human body,” he said.Chronic lead exposure can damage a child’s developing brain, leading to learning and behavioral disabilities. But at an elementary school, Melnick said the risk of that kind of exposure is generally low. Older students are less likely than infants or preschool-age children to put paint chips or other objects that might be covered in lead dust in their mouths.Still, Melnick advises parents who may be concerned to call their doctor. Public Health is assisting the investigation.Hough Elementary School is one of Clark County’s oldest campuses. It was built in 1941 and remodeled in the mid-1990s. Lead-based paint and its dust is commonly found in buildings and homes constructed before 1978, the year the federal government banned lead-based paint.Vancouver Public Schools is rebuilding seven aging schools in a bond-funded construction campaign, including five elementary schools. Hough, however, is not one of them. The campus is slated for some renovations, however.
Luciano Spalletti believes both Inter Milan and Napoli deserved to share the spoils despite snatching a late winner in the tie.Spalletti praised his side’s effort in a tie they could have lost but ended up winning by 1-0 thanks to Lautaro Martinez.“I saw a strong Inter tonight from start to finish. In some ways, we deserved the victory, as we pushed hard,” the Coach told Football Italia.“At the same time, if Asamoah hadn’t cleared off the line, we could’ve lost, as that was a tough situation to get out of. It was, more importantly, a very entertaining game between two teams who moved the ball with pace, played good football and in a way, both deserved the points.”Lautaro Martinez came off the bench and snatched a last-gasp winner just moments after Kwadwo Asamoah’s goal-line clearance to deny Piotr Zielinski.“Lautaro is doing what he has to do. He could’ve done better in the past, but he took his opportunity coming off the bench today.
Lukaku backed to beat Ronaldo in Serie A scoring charts Andrew Smyth – September 14, 2019 Former Inter Milan star Andy van der Meyde is confident Romelu Lukaku will outscore Cristiano Ronaldo in this season’s Serie A.“Napoli have a squad of absolute quality and move the ball around at 1,000km/h.”The manager equally gave a hint about Nainggolan’s return despite the suspension by the club.“There are rules in the locker room that are set at the start of the season. I don’t create trouble for the sake of it. I have to ensure the rules are respected for the good of everyone. Rules are as fundamental as the ball in this sport.“Nainggolan was only kept out for this game, as a principle, and also has a fine. Players have plenty of money, so they don’t mind paying fines, but being dropped makes an impact.“It’s not that Nainggolan let me down. He simply had some behaviour that was not OK.”
EXCLUSIVE: Professional services organisation EY has partnered with employee benefits provider Benefex to offer employee engagement solutions.The organisations will work together to provide employee benefits and engagement technology alongside consulting services with the aim of enhancing people performance, staff engagement, and talent attraction and retention.The collaboration will see EY deliver Benefex’s global benefits and engagement technology platform, RewardHub.Gethin Nadin (pictured), director of ecosystems at Benefex, said: “Designing exceptional employee experiences is at the core of what we do. In conjunction with EY’s new People Advisory Service, we will enhance what we can deliver for clients both in the UK and internationally.“We are combining our award winning benefits and engagement technology with EY’s 150 years of professional services experience, and that’s really exciting for our joint clients and the people who work for them.”Sue Robinson, partner, People Advisory Services at EY, added: “This exciting development further enhances our capability to provide a co-ordinated service for heads of reward and HR directors, for employers in both the private and public sectors.“The introduction of the RewardHub allows these key elements of an employee’s experience to be accessed by anyone, anywhere, from one fully mobile and interactive site.”
Dan Cohen AUTHOR A proposed wind farm located south of Corpus Christi is one step closer to going ahead after the Federal Aviation Administration determined that the 86 proposed turbines won’t pose a hazard to air navigation, but the city remains opposed to the project due to concerns that it would interfere with training activities at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.“The city remains opposed to it due to the safety concerns for the military, the potential impacts on the flight training mission at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and the potential impact [to] economic growth of the Southside, which is the city’s primary growth corridor,” Tom Tagliabue, the city’s director of intergovernmental relations, told the Caller-Times.The city had hoped to stop the project by annexing 16 square miles in the community of Chapman Ranch, but the developer’s latest plan calls for placing the turbines on land the city did not annex.The city continues to explore its options, Tagliabue said.Last year, project developer Apex Clean Energy reached a memorandum of agreement with the Navy calling for measures to mitigate potential impacts from the turbines.A number of stakeholders, including the Navy and Corpus Christi International Airport, have lingering questions about the cumulative impacts of wind farms on radar systems. The Navy’s top air training official has said not enough is known about wind farms’ effect on training to determine the potential effects, according to the Caller-Times.
NarayanganjMembers of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three suspected members of banned Islamic outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Bandar area in Narayanganj on Tuesday night, reports UNB.The identities of the arrested persons could not be known immediately.Tipped off, a team of RAB-11 conducted a drive in the area and arrested three members including a woman of the banned militant outfit, said Alep Uddin, senior assistant superintendent of police.Details of the arrestees will be informed at a press briefing of the elite force scheduled to be held around 11:00am.
Share Marjorie Kamys Cotera | Texas TribuneFormer Texas Governor Rick Perry.President Donald Trump has reshuffled the National Security Council to include former Texas Governor and current Energy Secretary Rick Perry and remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from his controversial role on the National Security Council.The changes come just months after Trump elevated Bannon to the position.Bannon will no longer be a regular attendee of the principals committee of the NSC, but he will retain his role as senior adviser for domestic affairs.Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford have been elevated to the principals committee again after their roles within that group were changed shortly after Trump took office.Bannon’s presence on the NSC principals committee showed the considerable influence the former head of Breitbart News, the controversial right-wing news outlet that became a platform for the so-called alt-right movement, now wielded in the West Wing.Now a new presidential memorandum, published Tuesday in the Federal Register, removes Bannon from his permanent place on the NSC, which no previous top White House political adviser had ever held.Alex Brandon| APWhite House chief strategist Steve Bannon, left, and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, arrive for a Republican caucus meeting on Capitol Hill, Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Washington.Bannon said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that while Obama national security adviser “Susan Rice operationalized the NSC during the last administration[,] I was put on to ensure that it was de-operationalized. General McMaster has returned the NSC to its proper function.”McMaster was named national security adviser in late February after Michael Flynn, Trump’s first pick for that role, was fired less than a month into the job following revelations that he had misled Vice President Pence over his conversations with a Russian official on U.S. sanctions during the transition.According to the Federal Register, the new memo also adds the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the secretary of the Energy Department to the principals committee.And in another change, the national security adviser will set the agenda for the council as well as for the Homeland Security Council, and can delegate that at his discretion. Previously the homeland security adviser was able to set the agenda.Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
Over the last three weeks, twelve bands have played live, battled it out for audience attention and votes and now it has all come down to the three finalists – The Alibi, Pilgrim and Tarik.Over the last three weeks, India’s first ever indie Battle of the Bands has been taking place at Café 27. Sixty bands entered the competition, twelve performed in the heats, and now only three remain.They’ll all be performing on 27 April in the grand finale of Delhi Indie Night: Battle of the Bands. To find out who will be crowned champion, come along, the first band will be playing at 9 pm. Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’Once all three bands have played, you’ll get the chance to vote for the one you think is the best, and be a part of deciding who becomes the overall winner.On Saturday, each of the bands will be playing a 40-minute set, after which the audience will vote for their favourite. That very night, the overall winner will be announced, and they will take away prizes that include a one hour slot on radio and a music video shoot. The indie music scene in the Capital has been restricted to hubs in Hauz Khas village and one of performance in Hard Rock Cafe. But in a fresh initiative, the big band battle gives these rockers the opportunity to get their talent in front of others and earn some good prizes as they fight to win. The competition has witnessed brilliant participation so far. Head over. Show them some love!DETAILWhere: Cafe 27, Kailash Colony Market When: 27 April, 9 pm onwards
Image courtesy of Philips Healthcare November 20, 2012 — TeraRecon Inc. has received the North American New Product Innovation Award in Medical Imaging Informatics from the respected independent research firm Frost and Sullivan. This award represents the seventh time that TeraRecon Inc. has been recognized with a Best Practices award from Frost and Sullivan, and the third time since 2010, following the European Company of the Year Award in the category of Medical Imaging, Advanced Visualization Applications and the North American Growth Leadership of the Year Award. The full text of the new award can be reviewed on the company’s website at www.terarecon.com/fs2012.pdf.The Award is issued contemporaneously with the release of the new Frost and Sullivan market research report on the North American Medical Imaging Informatics market, and is derived from independent and objective research performed by the Frost and Sullivan team, which was not commissioned or funded by TeraRecon.To quote Frost and Sullivan: “In recognition of the role of product innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit in this continued success, Frost and Sullivan is proud to present TeraRecon with the 2012 North American New Product Innovation Award in Medical Imaging Informatics.” Regarding the value of healthy competition in the advanced visualization marketplace, Frost and Sullivan commented on mergers and acquisitions, observing that “the latest acquisition brought a major independent vendor under the control of a major imaging equipment manufacturer. Since then, the imaging equipment makers collectively have strengthened their grip over the advanced visualization market…” In this context, TeraRecon is the largest independent, vendor-neutral provider of advanced visualization, globally.Frost and Sullivan recognized the importance of combining a strong clinical value proposition with a viable and financially sound proposal in terms of department-wide and enterprise-wide information technology, and TeraRecon’s success in achieving this balance: “The cumulative impact of the solutions provided by TeraRecon has been highly regarded by IT departments and CIOs for its immediate and long-term ROI. It allows imaging providers seeking clinical excellence to also align their incentives with and get buy-in from their IT counterparts.”The award noted that “…the recently launched iNtuition Review, iNtuition Enterprise Medical Viewer (iEMV) and iNtuition Share product lines collectively incorporate a comprehensive range of elements necessitated by modern medical imaging enterprises to maintain peak operational efficiency and quality of care. These capabilities align perfectly with concerted industry demands for solutions that effectively lead to increased access to patient information and streamlined delivery of care.”It was observed that TeraRecon technology is embraced by a range of imaging professionals involved in clinical imaging as well as research: “A clear example of that vision is the company’s first-of-its-kind cloud-based advanced visualization service, which has garnered traction among certain types of imaging providers, as well as among contract research organizations (CRO) and other actors within the clinical trials field.”The importance of quantitative imaging and the company’s commitment to this field was also highlighted: “TeraRecon’s leadership in quantitative imaging offers providers the opportunity to enhance their clinical decision-support capabilities by being able to more efficiently document, store, and mine image-based analytics.”Building upon the value proposition of advanced imaging applications, Frost and Sullivan further highlighted the practical value of the iNtuition solution in the context of image sharing: “iNtuition SHARE provides yet another good example of value-added benefits leading to positive changes in ROI for providers. Its enterprise distribution and image-sharing capabilities connect medical imaging specialists with their referral base as well as their peers, patients and external facilities in a much more efficient way than the traditional CD-based model.”TeraRecon Chairman, president and CEO Robert Taylor, Ph.D., commented on the award, “We are truly honored to have received a seventh Frost and Sullivan award and the third within as many years, recognizing the company’s continuing achievements in the field of Medical Imaging Informatics. This independent research by Frost and Sullivan insightfully recognizes the important balance we have strived to achieve, between excellence in clinical advanced visualization tools, and enterprise access and interoperability, to ensure such tools are accessible, efficient, and effective in delivering excellence in care at an appropriate cost.”Taylor continued, “TeraRecon is fully committed to innovation and excellence, both technologically and clinically. We are defining new boundaries for advanced visualization and empowering physicians to communicate, share and cooperate with appropriate contextual tools for image review, every day. We embrace this challenge with the greatest enthusiasm and commitment.”For more information: www.frost.com, www.terarecon.com FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrint分享 Related Content 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 News | November 20, 2012 TeraRecon Receives 2012 New Product Innovation Award in Medical Imaging Informatics 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 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 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 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. 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 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.
Friday, September 8, 2017 Posted by The second giveaway, ‘#ParisJetaime’ trip, includes Business class tickets to Paris with Air France, a five-night stay at the four-star Secret de Paris hotel with breakfast, dinner for two at the two-Michelin-star La Réserve Paris hotel’s Le Gabriel, two-day Paris Museum Passes courtesy of the Paris tourism office, and a visit to the famous Harcourt Studios in Paris.More news: Direct Travel names Smith as Senior VP, Leisure Marketing, North AmericaEntries will be accepted online at france-prestige.ca.Coppens also announced that effective Nov. 20, travellers on Air France’s daily service out of Toronto Pearson to Paris-Charles de Gaulle will fly aboard a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The aircraft comes equipped with 30 Business cabin seats, 21 Premium Economy seats, and 225 Economy seats.Air France’s Air Bistro Paris will remain on King Street until Sept. 10. The 42nd edition of TIFF will run until Sept. 17. Travelweek Group << Previous PostNext Post >> Cinema has been an essential part of Air France’s history, ever since it screened its first in-flight film in 1966. Furthermore, in partnering with the festival, the airline has shone the spotlight on France’s love affair with film; an average of 10 films are shot in Paris each day, and 100 international productions each year.More news: Kory Sterling is TL Network Canada’s new Sales Manager CanadaAtout France, the France Tourism Development Agency, was also in attendance to lend its support. “We are glad to be supporting Air France with the ‘Air Bistro Paris’, and we hope to see a lot of festival-goers there,” said Mélanie Paul-Hus, Director for Canada. “France is the cradle of the cinematic arts. Its capital, Paris, brims with cultural sites that both filmmakers and travellers draw inspiration from.”To help launch the festival, Air France announced a new contest that gives visitors the chance to win one of two upscale stays in France. The ‘Win a Trip to Cannes 2018’ includes two Business-class tickets from Toronto to Nice on Air France, one night at The Carlton Cannes hotel with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a seven-night stay at Club Med’s Opio Resort in Provence from May 5-12, 2018. The prize also includes attending a 2018 International Cannes Film Festival Gala.
Tags: Air France, Toronto Air France launched their Air Bistro Paris on King Street to run during the TIFF today. The bistro will be running until September 10thPosted by Travelweek on Thursday, September 7, 2017For more information go to airfrance.ca. Air France kicks off TIFF with contests, new Dreamliner TORONTO — As the official airline of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Air France wasn’t going to let a surprise downpour dampen spirits on opening day. Under the shelter of umbrellas and a four-metre Eiffel Tower replica, the airline kicked off film festivities yesterday with a ribbon cutting ceremony at a pop-up Parisian bistro on King Street.This marks the first time Air France has been named a sponsor of TIFF, which Roland Coppens, Commercial Director Canada, says perfectly aligns with the vision of Air France.“Cinema is very dear to Air France,” he said. “Air France operates one of the largest movie theatres in the world on the 38,000 personal screens that equip our long-haul fleet, with up to 1,200 hours of video on demand. It’s a great feeling to be part of one of Toronto’s premier festivals.”
Source = STUBA.com Murder in the Maldives… It’s okay to embellish a hotel description , but outright lying will definitely lead to drama.
* Tempting to name this hotel. Pax were forced to sign a disclaimer saying this would not be aired in a public forum…A disaster in the makingHoneymoon. Maldives. Trip of a lifetime. Trusted agent referred (more on the agent shortly), amazing website. Great reviews. All boxes ticked. Lets go!The evolution of hotel ratings Global standard ? Globally all over the place. Australia has one of the best systems, in some countries a single body manages them, the Maldives a 4-Star:“Everything you need and more: These notable lodgings offer a memorable luxury experience with high-end rooms, dining, amenities, style and service.”…and you decide it yourselves.Ever since social media democratised and aggregated our opinions, the hotel star system has lost its shine. Self moderation and error traps to catch out fake reviews are what we look for.Hotel descriptions are the least trustworthy source of information. They weren’t going to write and say the hotel on the other atoll were better…(See the footnote on what roomsXML/stuba did about hotel descriptions)The drama defined The website bathroom photograph appears was from another countryHotels can be “a little bit tired” – this one was on an IV drip in intensive carefour of the dimmest stars in the history of the galaxyplastic replacing palm fronds on hasty repairs that have lasted years too longDescription included “WTF” and “YHTBFKM”, no LOL or ROFLPax complained and were asked to sign a disclaimer, stating no more public complaining, a free upgrade, for which they were later asked $100… Silly manager. Put it on a hotel letterhead.How about the agent?Total superstar. They had done an impossible amount of ground work before the booking was made. They didn’t complain but wanted us to know about the dodgy description. So upset they felt they had let someone down. Faultless. We can’t undo a dodgy hotel experience from March but we will go above and beyond for those who maintain fairness, integrity and dignity – these are the agents we want to make look like rockstars.Five tips on choosing a hotel that really, you can know nothing about Check Tripadvisor and at least one other sourceJump to page 7 of reviewsIgnore the hotel’s own descriptionSee the same image for a number of reviewer profiles ? DodgyLook at the traveller photo archive, not the hotelsCan you expect better from your wholesalers? It’s the reason we changed the way we present property descriptions. There were just too many hotels on the beach in Bali… We are now using an algorithm that compiles and aggregates comments and scores to get an accurate, unbiased description of properties. Perfect? Probably not, but certainly better.www.roomsxml.com learn more about roomsXML.com here
‘The Big Bang Theory’ regains its spot at top of ratings by David Bauder, The Associated Press Posted May 8, 2018 12:19 pm PDT Last Updated May 8, 2018 at 1:00 pm PDT AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to RedditRedditShare to 電子郵件Email NEW YORK, N.Y. – As it heads toward the end of another season, CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” has regained its familiar spot at the top of the television rankings.The CBS comedy was seen by nearly 13 million people last week, the Nielsen company said. The revived “Rosanne,” which has created a sensation since returning to the air on ABC this spring, slipped to fourth in last week’s ratings, with an audience of 10.43 million viewers last Tuesday.CBS’ “NCIS” was the second most-popular show of the week for the first of a two-episode arc featuring actress Pauley Perrette’s exit after 15 years of playing the character Abby.Thirteen of the week’s 20 most-watched shows were on CBS and five were on ABC. The other two were episodes of “The Voice” on NBC.Network executives have spent the past few weeks looking at pilots to determine which new shows will hit the air next season. The networks announce their plans for the fall to advertisers next week in New York.CBS won the week in prime time, averaging 6.7 million viewers. ABC had 4.9 million viewers, NBC had 4.5 million, Fox had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.4 million, ION Television had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 1.1 million and the CW had 1 million.TNT was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3.32 million viewers in prime time. Fox News Channel had 2.3 million viewers, MSNBC had 1.71 million, ESPN had 1.33 million and USA had 1.28 million.ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.9 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 8.5 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.5 million viewers.For the week of April 30-May 6, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 12.93 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 12.36 million; “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 11.67 million; “Roseanne,” ABC, 10.43 million; “Bull,” CBS, 10.38 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 9.12 million; “The Voice” (Monday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 8.82 million; “American Idol” (Sunday), ABC, 8.65 million; “Mom,” CBS, 8.63 million; “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 8.48 million.___ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks.___Online:http://www.nielsen.com
The Central Bank of Cyprus said that Cypriot banks made less progress than expected in the first quarter of the year in meeting the four target indicators for reducing non-performing loans.The banks only exceeded in the indicator on the proposed sustainable solutions as a percentage of the loans presenting arrears over 90 days, with a ratio of 16.7 per cent, 2.08 per cent above the target, the Central Bank said in a statement on its website on Thursday. In the last quarter of 2016, the banks posted a 21.84 per cent ratio.On the other hand, Cypriot lenders scored only 7.17 per cent in concluding sustainable solutions as a percentage of loans representing arrears over 90 days in January to March, against a target ratio of 15.07 per cent and a conclusion ratio of 11.28 per cent in the quarter before, the central bank said.The percentage of loans restructured after the beginning of 2014 until the end of the fourth quarter of 2016 with their restructuring terms being met translating into less than 8 days in arrears, banks posted a 68.68 per cent ratio, against a 72.19 per cent indicator, the central bank said.Finally, the aggregate arrears cure ratio of loans that presented arrears over 30 days and up to 90 days at the beginning of the quarter and by the end of the quarter did not present any arrears, was 33.27 per cent against a target indicator of 44.53 per cent in the first quarter, the central bank said. In the previous quarter, the reported ratio was 42.87 per cent.By the end of the first quarter, non-performing loans fell by €637.6m to €23.2bn compared to December, and accounted for 46 per cent of total loans.,You May LikeFigLeaf Beta AppHow to Become Fully Anonymous Online in Less Than 3 Minutes? Better safe than sorryFigLeaf Beta AppUndoYahoo SearchResearch Compact SUVs. New SUVs May Make You Want To Trade Yours In Today – See For Yourself!Yahoo SearchUndoPopularEverythingColorado Mom Adopted Two Children, Months Later She Learned Who They Really ArePopularEverythingUndo Pensioner dies after crash on Paphos-Polis roadUndoTurkish Cypriot actions in Varosha ‘a clear violation’ of UN resolutions, Nicosia saysUndoRemand for pair in alleged property fraud (Updated)Undoby Taboolaby Taboola
Bank of Cyprus (BoC) workers will see their salaries cut by up to 30 per cent while allowances will be either scrapped or cut by half, it was announced on Tuesday.The stricken lender said it had agreed with bank employee union ETYK on the pay cuts but discussions continued on the voluntary exit plan.The cuts, plus shedding 1,000 plus staff out of a total of 5,500, will save BoC around €100 million.The bank’s monthly payroll currently amounts to €25m.It will also be closing 30 branches.The bank is currently in administration following a Eurogroup decision to close Laiki and impose heavy losses on deposits over €100,000 to recapitalise BoC.BoC has absorbed certain Laiki assets and its staff.Cutting its operating costs is a main component of restructuring the lender as it struggles to exit administration and regain confidence.“We look forward to the BoC exiting administration as soon as possible,” government spokesman Christos Stylianides said. “There is a target for the end of July.”The agreement between the BoC and ETYK provides for staggered cuts between 11 per cent and 30 per cent.Gross annual revenues of €10,000 will remain untouched, while those earning over €114,000 will lose 30 per cent of their income.Some allowances will be scrapped while others will be cut by 50 per cent, according to the agreement.The handling of the employees’ provident fund is key to the success of the voluntary retirement scheme.Their funds have also suffered a ‘haircut’ along with uninsured deposits since they were not covered by the deposit protection scheme.The government has pledged to limit the losses of provident fund members to around 25 per cent of the amount they would have received before the EU decision to restructure the two Cypriot banks.Many bank employees who had borrowed heavily counting on their retirement fund as security, were now stuck with the loans.You May LikeLivestlyChip And Joanna’s $18M Mansion Is Perfect, But It’s The Backyard Everyone Is Talking AboutLivestlyUndoPopularEverythingColorado Mom Adopted Two Children, Months Later She Learned Who They Really ArePopularEverythingUndoGundry MD PrebioThrive Probiotic SupplementCardiologist: This Is What Happens When You Eat GlutenGundry MD PrebioThrive Probiotic SupplementUndo Pensioner dies after crash on Paphos-Polis roadUndoRemand for pair in alleged property fraud (Updated)UndoConcern over falling tourism numbersUndoby Taboolaby Taboola
Jamshedpur (Jharkhand): A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped and beheaded by two men after abducting her from a platform of the Tatanagar railway station in Jharkhand last week, police said on Wednesday.The torso of the girl, kept in a plastic bag, was recovered from a bush under Telco police station area, around 4 kilometre from the railway station on Tuesday night, they said. Three persons, including the two prime accused, were arrested in this connection. Also Read – Uddhav bats for ‘Sena CM’Sniffer dogs were pressed into service to locate the head of the girl, Superintendent of Police (Railway) Ehtesham Waquarib said. The incident occurred on last Friday night when the girl was sleeping along with her mother and her male companion. Waquarib said the girl’s mother had left her husband in Purulia district of West Bengal with a man, one of the three arrested, and her child and were on the Tatanagar station platform that night. After her daughter disappeared, the woman lodged a complaint with the police saying that the man with whom she had fled might be involved in the incident. Also Read – Farooq demands unconditional release of all detainees in J&KHe was forwarded to jail on Tuesday. His role in the incident is being investigated. The police officer said they got some inputs after watching the CCTV footage of the platform and identified the two main accused and arrested them. Waquarib said the two, who are in their 30s, confessed that they beheaded the girl after raping and strangulating the girl to death. On the basis of the lead provided by them, the police recovered the torso but the head was not found. The SP said the two accused were forwarded to 14 days judicial custody on Wednesday.
New Delhi: With an aim to safeguard mutual fund investors from high-risk assets, regulator Sebi wants fund houses to shift all their investments to listed or to-be-listed equity and debt securities in a phased manner and reduce their exposure to unrated debt instruments from 25 per cent to only 5 per cent. Exposure to risky debt securities has emerged as a major risk for the capital market investors, including those coming through the mutual fund space, and the regulator has been making efforts to enhance its regulatory safety net against such risks. Also Read – Thermal coal import may surpass 200 MT this fiscalTaking forward certain decisions approved by Sebi’s board earlier in June, the regulator has now finalised the draft amendments to the prudential norms for mutual fund schemes for investment in debt and money market instruments. Besides, some further amendments have been proposed for approval of Sebi’s board at its next meeting later this month, officials said. A key fresh proposal is to reduce the existing overall limit for investment of mutual fund schemes in unrated debt instruments, except those for which specific norms are separately provided, from 25 per cent to 5 per cent. Also Read – Food grain output seen at 140.57 mt in current fiscal on monsoon boostFurther, the existing provision of the single issuer limit of 10 per cent for investment in unrated debt instruments has been proposed to be dispensed with, an official said. However, the official said these proposed limits may need to be reviewed periodically by Sebi after taking into account the market dynamics and participation of mutual funds in unrated debt securities from time to time. Among other decisions which have been in-principle already approved by the Sebi board and need to be incorporated in the amended regulations, the valuation of debt and money market instruments based on amortisation would be dispensed with and would shift completely to mark-to-market valuation with effect from April 1, 2020. Also, mutual funds would be permitted to accept upfront fees with disclosure of all such fees to valuation agencies and standard methodology for treatment of such fees would be issued by the industry body AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India) in consultation with Sebi. Under the new proposed prudential framework, mutual funds would invest only in listed or to-be-listed equity shares and debt securities (including commercial papers) and this would be implemented in a phased manner. Sebi would soon issue a circular on operational aspects of the proposal such as timelines, grandfathering of existing investments, exclusion of exposure in debt instruments such as interest rate swaps, etc. The existing regulations allow a mutual fund scheme to invest a maximum of 10 per cent of its net asset value in unrated debt instruments issued by a single issuer while the total investment in such instruments is capped at 25 per cent. However, pursuant to Sebi’s decision to allow mutual funds to invest only in listed securities, very limited number of instruments that are unrated would be eligible for investment by the mutual funds, as all listed debt instruments are mandatorily rated. After excluding debentures, government securities, interest rate swaps, interest rate futures, repo on G-Sec and T-bills, the mutual funds’ investments in unrated debt instruments are mostly in fixed deposits, bills re-discounting (BRDS), mutual fund units, repo on corporate bonds, units of REITs/InvITs (Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Trusts), etc. However, Sebi already has separate investment norms for fixed deposits (FDs), mutual fund units, repo of corporate bonds and REITs/InvITs and the exposure to these instruments does not form part of the existing 25 per cent investment cap. Excluding all these instruments, the total exposure of mutual funds in the remaining unrated debt instruments is mostly in BRDS, amounting to about Rs 2,870 crore as on March 31, 2019. Besides, this investment is limited to just four mutual fund schemes and the average value of investments as percentage of the respective scheme’s asset under management was just about 3 per cent. As a result, Sebi is of the view that the existing limit of 25 per cent for investment in unrated debt instruments would be too high as the residual investment permitted in this category might be relevant only for few instruments including BRDS.