Eleven Saudi princes, four sitting ministers and dozens of former ministers have been detained by Saudi Arabia’s new anticorruption body, local media reports say.
Those detained were not named and it is not clear what they are suspected of.
However, local broadcaster Al-Arabiya said fresh investigations had been launched into the 2009 Jeddah floods and the outbreak of the MERS virus which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
The detentions came hours after the new anti-corruption committee was formed.
The anti-corruption committee is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and has the power to issue arrest warrants and travel bans, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Separately, the heads of the Saudi National Guard and the navy were replaced in a series of high-profile sackings.
According to SPA, King Salman had dismissed National Guard minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah and navy commander Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan.
No official explanation was given for their removal.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently said the return of “moderate Islam” was key to his plans to modernize Saudi Arabia.
Addressing an economic conference in Riyadh, the crown prince vowed to “eradicate the remnants of extremism very soon”.
In 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled a wide-ranging plan to bring social and economic change to Saudi Arabia.
Lebanon’s PM Saad al-Hariri has announced his resignation in a TV broadcast from Saudi Arabia.
Saad al-Hariri also said that he feared for his life, while fiercely criticizing Iran.
He accused Iran of sowing “fear and destruction” in several countries, including Lebanon.
Saad al-Hariri’s father, former PM Rafik al-Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.
The Hariri family is close to Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional competitor.
Saad al- Hariri has been prime minister since December 2016, after previously holding the position between 2009 and 2011.
“We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of martyr Rafik al-Hariri,” he said in the broadcast from Riyadh.
“I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life.”
When you are strapped for cash, getting a short-term loan is what most people can think about. Unlike in the past where you had to make a trip to the bank and apply for a loan, now you can get a quick short-term loan at the comfort of your home.
However, it’s important that you make an informed choice to ensure that you are getting the most suitable online loan. Doing this requires that you have a clear understanding of various aspects of the loans as well as the lenders. In this article, you’ll learn some actionable tips to help you get the best loan.
Consider your intended use for the loan to know exactly how much you need to borrow
There are multiple reasons for taking loans but the reason behind the borrowing could influence the available choices. There are some lenders who are not concerned with how you spend the money but there are others who limit where the money can be spent.
After knowing how the money is going to be used, you can now settle on an amount that is sufficient to cover the expenses as well as any upfront fees for the short term loan. If you are using the short-term loan to take care of a major expense, then it’s important you create a budget and capture every expense.
Basically, almost every lender has the minimum loan as well as the maximum amount available for their clients to borrow. When you know how much you need, it’s easy to choose the most appropriate lender.
Image source The Blue Diamond Gallery
Take a look at your financial situation and determine the monthly payments you can comfortably pay
If you are not confident in your financial situation, it’s likely that you won’t be comfortable with the payments. Generally, there is no point in taking loan whose monthly payments will stretch your finances and make life unbearable.
Before you settle for a short-term loan, it’s important to know if you can manage to pay the monthly payments and at the same time pay all your bills. This calls choosing a loan with favorable terms that are largely determined by the following factors.
The repayment period and this is usually in months
The amount borrowed
The interest rates charged
To be on the safe side, choose a monthly payment amount that allows you to have some extra cash to take care of other financial obligations. If you are patient in your search, you’ll find multiple lenders who can give you a short-term loan that suits your financial situation.
Choosing the right online lender
While finding an online lender willing to offer you a loan will be easy, picking the best from the sea of different lenders isn’t easy.
To get started, ask a few trustworthy people if they have used any loan provider in the past. If you don’t have a relative or friend with such knowledge, you can ask a reputable financial professional. However, you should be cautious when taking recommendations from people who get some commissions from lending companies.
Check the credentials of the lender to ensure that they are authorized to conduct business in your state. It’s also important to check the lender’s rating with the BBB as well as the reviews on their websites.
The most appropriate $5000 income based lender is one who has sufficient experience in the financial industry and understands the market dynamics. You should settle for lenders who have a good track record since they already have a reputation to guard and therefore have a tendency to offer better customer service. Otherwise, avoid any fly-by-night operators who are characterized by little or no reputation in the market.
Look beyond teaser rates and calculate the APR
A legitimate lender will always strive to offer loans with transparent and reasonable terms. However, you’ll come across multiple adverts that quote the low rates just to get your attention. Don’t take the bait because the rates quoted “as low as” are normally out of reach for average borrowers.
Instead, settle on lenders who are free to reveal the exact APR for a loan without presenting you with multiple figures for the same loan. The APR should be made of the loan fee, interest rates, and the loan term so a good company won’t be presenting some additional rates.
Read the fine print in the loan agreement
While it’s important to deal with companies with a sufficient experience, track record of great service, nothing can equal a clear understanding of the loan agreement.
If a lender is good, they will include all the fees and charges in the agreement. However, it’s important to study the document just to be sure that there aren’t any hidden charges that can cause problems along the way. Normally, you’ll find the hidden charges disguised as application fees, pre-payment penalties or membership fees.
But if the agreement captures all the expected terms and rates that you are comfortable with, you can go ahead and sign it. You should know that this is a legally binding agreement and you are expected to honor the agreed terms.
Responsible borrowing
While it’s important that you be on the lookout for predatory lenders, you must exercise responsible borrowing. As a rule of thumb, short-term loans are only meant to be used to solve short-term financial difficulties. This is because most lenders expect you to repay the money in a few weeks or months.
In addition, it’s always prudent to draft a budget before taking a loan so that you can be accountable for the expenditures. If you realize that you can’t meet the loan obligations due to unforeseen circumstances, you should communicate with your lender immediately. In most cases, they are ready to help by offering alternative rates and terms that are suitable to your current financial state.
Final words
Online loans are not new in the market. In fact, most of the traditional banks that had not adopted the technology are now actively doing business online. This offers the advantage of lower operating costs, efficiency and convenience to both parties.
Since you can easily compare different lenders in a short time, you have the advantage of choosing the most appropriate lender to work with. The tips discussed here can help you navigate the pitfalls of online short term loans.
President Donald Trump has begun an 12-day trip to Asia during which he will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The trip will be the longest tour of Asia by an American president in 25 years.
It comes at a time of heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear program and missile tests.
President Trump is expected to show a united front with South Korea and Japan while pressing China to take a stronger line with North Korea.
He flew first to Hawaii where he visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor – the scene of the 1941 Japanese attack that drew the US into World War Two.
He also took part in a briefing at the US Pacific Command.
From Hawaii, the president and First Lady Melania Trump will head to Japan and then on to South Korea.
President Trump has previously exchanged some fiery rhetoric with North Korea over its ballistic missile tests but aides said earlier this week that he would not go to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the border between South and North Korea.
He is, however, to visit Camp Humphreys, a US military complex south of Seoul.
In Vietnam, President Trump will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Da Nang and make a state visit to Hanoi.
His final engagement will be a summit of South East Asian nations in the Philippine capital, Manila.
The last time an American president made such a marathon trip to Asia was when George H.W. Bush visited the region in late 1991 and early 1992.
Netflix has decided to sever ties with Kevin Spacey amid a number of assault allegations against him.
The entertainment company said it would hold talks with House of Cards’ producers to see if production, which was suspended this week, could resume without Kevin Spacey.
Netflix also said it would not release Kevin Spacey’s movie about Gore Vidal.
Meanwhile, the UK police have opened an investigation into Kevin Spacey over an alleged assault.
On November 2, Kevin Spacey said he was seeking treatment after facing allegations of misconduct from a string of men.
Netflix suspended House of Cards production on October 31 following allegations by Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp, who said Kevin Spacey had tried to “seduce” him when he was 14.
The Oscar-winning actor said he was “beyond horrified” to hear of the incident, which he said he did not remember.
House of Cards, an adaptation of the 1990 miniseries of the same name, was first broadcast in 2013.
The first season garnered nine Emmy nominations, becoming the first online streaming series to win such mainstream accolades.
A Netflix spokesman said in a statement: “Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey.
“We will continue to work with MRC [series producer Media Rights Capital] during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show.
“We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film Gore, which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey.”
MRC said in a statement earlier that it was “deeply troubled” about the allegations against Kevin Spacey.
It said it had dealt with one incident in 2012 in which an unnamed crew member “shared a complaint about a specific remark and gesture made by Kevin Spacey”, that immediate action had been taken and that the issue had been resolved.
Kevin Spacey had “willingly participated in a training process”, MRC added.
Spain has issued European Arrest Warrants (EAW) for ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and four of his allies who went to Belgium.
The five failed to attend a high court hearing in Madrid on November 2 when nine other ex-members of the regional government were taken into custody.
One of those detained has been freed on bail of €50,000 ($58,000).
They all face charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for pursuing Catalan independence.
Carles Puigdemont has said he will not return to Spain unless he receives guarantees of a fair trial.
Belgium will “study” the warrant, a spokesman for the state prosecutor told AFP.
The regional parliament in Catalonia voted to proclaim an independent republic on October 27, following an illegal referendum on independence organized by the Catalan government on October 1.
No other country recognized the move and Spain’s central government moved swiftly to impose control, using emergency powers under the constitution.
Carles Puigdemont was the president of the autonomous region of Catalonia until the proclamation of independence and continues to regard himself as the president of the newly proclaimed “Republic of Catalonia”.
The ousted and his colleagues travelled to Belgium to raise their case for statehood at the EU institutions and he insists he is not trying to evade “real justice”.
During an interview with Belgian TV, aired on November 3, Carles Puigdemont that he would co-operate with Belgian judicial authorities.
He also said that he was ready to run in snap regional elections in Catalonia next month.
The other four warrants are for: ex-agriculture minister Meritxell Serret, ex-health minister Antoni Comín, ex-culture minister Lluís Puig and ex-education minister Clara Ponsatí.
The warrants were sent to Belgian prosecutors, who have 24 hours to decide whether the paperwork is correct.
If they do, they will forward them on to a judge who will decide whether Carles Puigdemont and the four others should be arrested.
Belgium has a maximum of 60 days to return the suspects to Spain after arrest. However, if the suspects do not raise legal objections, a transfer could happen much sooner.
A country can reject an EU arrest warrant if it fears that extradition would violate the suspect’s human rights.
Discrimination based on politics, religion or race is grounds for refusal. So are fears that the suspect would not get a fair trial.
There is an agreed EU list of 32 offences – in Article Two of the EAW law – for which there is no requirement for the offence to be a crime in both countries. In other words, any of those offences can be a justification for extradition, provided the penalty is at least three years in jail.
However, neither “sedition” nor “rebellion” – two of the Spanish accusations against the Catalan leaders – are on that list.
The man, aged 23 at the time, is said to have run from the property after Kevin Spacey allegedly said: “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
A police spokesman said it had no record of any arrests having been made in connection with the investigation and police declined to comment on The Sun‘s report, which says the complainant had been interviewed by police.
It comes after a number of allegations, including CNN reporting that Kevin Spacey made the set of Netflix’s House of Cards into a “toxic” work environment through a pattern of harassment.
The CNN report said allegations were made by eight people who currently work on the show, or worked on it in the past, with one former employee alleging Kevin Spacey assaulted him.
House of Cards production has been suspended on October 31 following allegations by Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp, who claimed Kevin Spacey tried to “seduce” him when he was 14.
Kevin Spacey said he was “beyond horrified” to hear of the incident, which he does not remember.
Meanwhile, director Tony Montana also claimed he was groped by Kevin Spacey in a Los Angeles bar in 2003.
Tony Montana said he was left with PTSD for six months after the incident.
Incidents regarding the Oscar-winning actor are also alleged to have taken place in the UK while he was the artistic director at the Old Vic in London between 2004 and 2015.
Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos, who acted in several plays at the theater, claimed Kevin Spacey “routinely preyed” on young male actors.
Earlier this week, the Old Vic set up a confidential complaints process for anyone connected to the theatre to come forward.
The Old Vic said in a statement: “We aim to foster a safe and supportive environment without prejudice, harassment or bullying of any sort, at any level.”
Thousands of Catalans have taken the streets of Barcelona to protest against the detention of eight regional ministers sacked over Catalonia’s push for independence from Spain.
The eight officials – who appeared in Spain’s high court – are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.
Prosecutors are also seeking a European Arrest Warrant for ousted Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont, who did not show up in court and is now in Belgium.
The request also covers four other ex-ministers who ignored the summons.
Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since a referendum on independence from Spain was held in Catalonia on October 1 in defiance of a constitutional court ruling that had declared it illegal.
Last week, Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia, dissolving the regional parliament and calling local elections for December 21.
This came after Catalonia’s parliament voted to declare the independence of the affluent north-eastern region.
The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part in the referendum, 90% were in favor of independence.
On November 2, thousands of people gathered outside Catalonia’s regional parliament in Barcelona.
Many carried Catalan flags and slogans that read “Freedom for political prisoners”.
Similar protest rallies were held in other Catalan towns.
Political parties and civic groups in the affluent north-eastern region also condemned the judicial move.
Nine out of 14 summoned Catalan ex-ministers appeared before Judge Carmen Lamela.
The judge said they had to be detained because they might otherwise leave the country or destroy evidence.
Those who were held are: ex-Deputy Vice-President Oriol Junqueras, ex-Interior Minister Joaquim Forn, ex-Foreign Affairs Minister Raül Romeva, ex-Justice Minister Carles Mundó, ex-Labour Minister Dolors Bassa, ex-Government Presidency Councillor Jordi Turull, ex-Sustainable Development Minister Josep Rull and ex-Culture Minister Meritxell Borras.
The ninth official, ex-Business Minister Santi Vila, was granted bail at the request of prosecutors. He quit before the Catalan parliament voted for independence on October 27.
In addition to Carles Puigdemont, prosecutors have asked Spain’s high court judge to issue European arrest warrants for the following Catalan officials: ex-Agriculture Minister Meritxell Serret, Ex-Health Minister Antoni Comín, ex-Culture Minister Lluís Puig, Ex-Education Minister Clara Ponsatí.
Five other senior members of the Catalan parliament, as well as Speaker Carme Forcadell, are facing the same charges but, because of their parliamentary immunity, their cases are being handled by the Supreme Court.
Their hearings have been postponed until November 9.
In a statement broadcast on Catalan TV from an undisclosed location in Belgium, Carles Puigdemont described the detentions as “an act that breaks with the basic principles of democracy”.
“I demand the release of the ministers and the vice-president,” he added.
Carles Puigdemont, who was spotted in a Brussels cafe on November 2, has said he will not return to Spain unless he receives guarantees of a fair trial. He did not specify his exact demands.
According to Efe news agency, Belgium’s federal prosecutor has said the law will be applied once an arrest warrant is received.
Carles Puigdemont’s lawyer said the climate was “not good” for him to appear in court, but he also said his client would co-operate with the authorities in Spain and Belgium.
It is better to remember that having a good credit score doesn’t’ ensure that the application submitted by you will be accepted for credit and you’ll be accessible with least interest rates. Remember that the lender’s decision is never made solely on the credit score.
It would be crucial to mention here that it hardly takes much to get bad credit. The worse thing is the one can ruin the credit score even before the person realized that he/she has one or even before the same understand the importance of having a good credit score.
The credit score reflects the way how you’ve managed the financial obligations and all the information are directly reported to the credit bureaus by different companies like lenders, credit card issuers, etc. Having a poor or bad credit score is always stressful and costly but it’s simply not the end. So, you need to do something for your credit repair and to get rid of all the hassles. Read the tips discussed below to get it done easily.
Ensure that the Credit Reports are Accurate
The first and the foremost step in this context would be to check out the accuracy of the credit reports. Everybody is offered with three credit reports (already stated above). According to a study report published by the Federal Trade Commission in 2012, it was discovered that 1 out of 5 customers had an inaccuracy in the credit reports. In the continuation study that came out in 2015, it was found that people who reported about an unsettled error on one of the outcomes consider that the doubtful information is still erroneous.
Fix all the Late Dues and Payments
Well, closing down all the account doesn’t make any change and they won’t make the late payment disappear. The challenge in this context is to get be on the usual track. This can be done by setting up reimbursement due date warnings with the loans as well as credit cards and get well-organized. The due dates of the credit card payment can be easily moved to the lender or bank’s website. It is also important to inquire about the compensation due dates related to the paycheck schedule.
Avert New Credit Card Application or Purchases
Experts recommend that as long as you are in credit repairing mode, you should avoid making a new application for a credit card because it may adversely affect the credit score. Opening new credit account will also lower the average credit which is another potential action to hurt your credit score.
Getting new credit card acquisitions will increase the utilization of the credit, i.e. the ratio of the credit card stabilities to their corresponding credit restrictions. The greater your balances are, the higher the utilization of the credit card and consequently more your credit score will be affected.
After trying every possible way to improve the credit score, the best and the ultimate thing one can do is to hire credit repair professional agency. These agencies have got the knowledge, experience as well as expertise both to offer great assistance for planning the repair of the credit score.
Salvează
It would be crucial to mention here that it hardly takes much to get bad credit. The worse thing is the one can ruin the credit score even before the person realized that he/she has one or even before the same understand the importance of having a good credit score. In most cases, being ignorant about some of the mostcommon credit card terms can lead to confusion and thus bad credit score.
President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was down for 11 minutes on November 2, the social media company said.
A Twitter employee deactivated the @realdonaldtrump account, the company said, clarifying that it had been their last day in the job.
Twitter is now investigating.
Tweets from President Trump, who has 41.7 million followers, have frequently caused controversy.
The latest incident has sparked debate about the security of the president’s account, given the potential consequences of posts falsely attributed to Donald Trump being published.
However, @POTUS, the official account of the US president, was unaffected.
On November 2, visitors to Donald Trump’s page for a short time could only see a message that read: “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!”
After the account was restored, Donald Trump’s first tweet was about the Republican Party’s tax cuts plan.
Twitter said it was investigating the problem and taking steps to avoid it happening again.
It later said: “Through our investigation we have learned that this was done by a Twitter customer support employee who did this on the employee’s last day. We are conducting a full internal review.”
Donald Trump joined Twitter in March 2009 and he has tweeted more than 36,000 times.
He has been actively using the social media platform to promote his policies and also attack his political opponents both during the presidential campaign in 2016 and since taking office in January.
In one interview he said that when someone said something about him, he was able to go “bing, bing, bing on Twitter” – and take care of it.
After the president appeared to directly threaten North Korea with destruction in a tweet in September, Twitter was forced to justify allowing the post to stand.
President Trump tweeted: “Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!”
Twitter said that President Trump’s tweet was “newsworthy”.
Donald Trump’s allies have also got into hot water over their use of Twitter.
Roger Stone, who advised him during his election campaign, was suspended from Twitter after he used abusive and homophobic language to target journalists, including a gay CNN presenter, Don Lemon.
He said he had been told by Twitter that he had violated its rules.
Roger Stone said he would sue Twitter for blocking his account.
The 2017 World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report has suggested that the equality gap between men and women would take 100 years to close at its current rate.
It is the first time that data from the WEF has shown a year-on-year worsening of the gender gap since it began charting it in 2006.
The report ranks 144 countries by economic opportunities, education, political participation and health.
Women are measured as having 68% of the chances and outcomes that men have.
This is slightly down from the 68.3% measured last year.
The WEF predicts that it would take a century to close all areas of equality it monitors globally, well up from the 83 years predicted in 2016.
Gender parity is closest in areas of health and education, it says, but significant gaps in economic participation and political empowerment continue to endure across the world.
The figures suggest that women will have to wait 217 years before they earn as much as men and are equally represented in the workplace.
Nordic countries remain among some of the world’s best for overall equality with Iceland topping the list with a 12% gender gap across all the WEF’s measures. Norway, Finland and Sweden are all in the top five.
Rwanda came fourth in the list for overall gender equality with a gap of 18%. It has the highest share of women in parliament in the world – they occupy three in every five seats.
Nicaragua, Slovenia, Ireland, New Zealand and the Philippines also made the top 10 on the Global Gender Gap rankings.
Women in the Middle East and North Africa fared the worst, with war-torn Yemen coming last on the list with a gender equality score of just 52%.
The WEF report shows women in the world earn less not just because of gendered salary differences, but because women are more likely to do unpaid or part-time work than men.
Women also generally tend to work in lower-paid professions and are less likely to be in highly-paid senior roles in companies.
Slovenia has the smallest gap in gender earnings – with women there on average earning 80.5% of the male national average.
The WEF report says that if the economic gender gap was totally closed:
China could add $2.5 trillion to its GDP
The US could add $1.75 billion
France and Germany could add more than $300 billion each
Both Canada and France saw improvements to their political empowerment measures after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron added more women in ministerial positions within their governments.
The US saw a marked drop in this area, with female political empowerment at its lowest rate in 10 years. It came 96th in this area.
The WEF report blames a significant decrease in female ministerial positions for the fall – a Freedom of Information request in March revealed that only 27% of all jobs within the Trump administration were taken by women.
Overall the US fell four places to take 49th position.
Other countries that improved overall included Bangladesh, which now ranks 47th in the world and the highest in South Asia after increasing female employment in professions.
Sub-Saharan African countries made marked improvements in women’s health. Nine countries from the region are in the world’s top 20 for high female labor force participation.
Eight dismissed members of Catalonia’s regional government are facing jail over their role in October’s disputed independence referendum, Madrid prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, nine Catalan officials testified at Spain’s high court over accusations of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.
Ousted Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont and four others disregarded a summons.
Carles Puigdemont, who is in Belgium, said the trial was “political”.
Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since the referendum was held on October 1 in defiance of a constitutional court ruling that had declared it illegal.
Last week, Spain’s PM Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia, dissolving the regional parliament and calling snap local elections for December 21.
This came after Catalan lawmakers voted to declare independence of the north-eastern region.
The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part in the referendum, 90% were in favor of independence.
Prosecutors asked the high court judge to jail eight of the nine members who turned up for questioning.
Those included dismissed deputy leader Oriol Junqueras, Interior Minister Joaquin Forn, foreign affairs chief Raül Romeva and spokesman Jordi Turull.
The ninth, Catalonia’s former business minister Santi Vila, should be granted a €50,000 ($58,000) bail, prosecutors said. He resigned before the Catalan parliament voted for independence on October 27.
The Catalan leaders are yet to be formally charged. They were accused of rebellion – which carries a maximum 30-year jail term – as well as sedition and misuse of funds.
A judge will decide whether the officials should go to jail, pending an investigation that could potentially lead to a trial.
The judge can also grant them conditional bail and order them to surrender their passports.
Five dismissed Catalan officials stayed in Brussels, including Carles Puigdemont, who had previously said he would not return to Spain if he and his colleagues did not receive unspecified guarantees of a fair trial.
Reports suggest some of them requested to appear before the judges via video conference.
Carles Puigdemont’s Belgian lawyer told Reuters that he would co-operate with the authorities in Spain and Belgium, but did not appear before the judges because “the climate is not good”.
The dismissed leader’s handling of the crisis has drawn criticism among some other Catalan politicians, with left-wing parliamentary deputy Joan Josep Nuet criticizing him for creating “yet more bewilderment”.
Meanwhile, five other senior members of the Catalan parliament, as well as speaker Carme Forcadell, are facing the same charges but, because of their parliamentary immunity, their cases are being handled by the Supreme Court.
Their hearings have been postponed until November 9.
If those Catalan politicians appearing in court are denied bail it will cause further anger among those who want Catalonia to break away.
The court summons also gave them three days to pay a deposit of €6.2 million ($7.2 million) to cover potential liabilities.
Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, director Brett Ratner and NPR senior editor Michael Oreskes the latest high-profile figures to be accused of harassment.
Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman have been accused of misconduct and have issued apologies.
Meanwhile, six women have accused Brett Ratner, director of the Rush Hour movie series and X-Men: The Last Stand, of harassment or misconduct.
Brett Ratner’s lawyer “categorically” denied all of the accusations on his behalf.
A representative for Kevin Spacey released a short statement to the media, saying the actor “is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment. No other information is available at this time”.
A growing number of allegations have been made against public figures in recent weeks.
The allegations have been sparked by multiple women speaking out against the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and a subsequent campaign encouraging victims to share their stories of harassment under the #metoo hashtag.
New allegations have emerged from a number of men accusing Kevin Spacey of misconduct.
Director Tony Montana claims he was groped by Kevin Spacey in a Los Angeles bar in 2003. He says he was left with PTSD for six months after the incident.
Tony Montana told Radar Online that he was in his thirties when the incident took place at the Coronet Bar in LA.
It follows an allegation made by Anthony Rapp that Kevin Spacey tried to “seduce” him when he was 14 years old.
Kevin Spacey says he has no recollection of that encounter, and was “beyond horrified”.
Incidents regarding Kevin Spacey are also alleged to have taken place in the UK while the Oscar-winning actor was the artistic director at the Old Vic in London between 2004 and 2015.
Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos, who acted in several plays at the theater, claims Kevin Spacey “routinely preyed” on young male actors.
Six women have accused Director Brett Ratner of harassment or misconduct.
The women, including The Newsroom actress Olivia Munn, made the allegations in the Los Angeles Times.
Natasha Henstridge, who appeared in Species and The Whole Ten Yards, claimed she had been forced into an act with Brett Ratner as a teenager.
The actress, now 43, was a 19-year-old model at the time she alleges Brett Ratner stopped her from leaving a room at his New York apartment and then made her perform an act on him.
“He strong-armed me in a real way,” Natasha Henstridge told the LA Times.
“He physically forced himself onto me.”
Brett Ratner’s lawyer “categorically” denied all of the accusations on his behalf in response to the article.
Separately, the director filed a libel case in Hawaii against a woman who accused him on Facebook of rape more than 10 years ago.
Brett Ratner says he has stepped away from dealings with movie studio Warner Bros since the allegations came to light.
Meanwhile, Dustin Hoffman has been accused of harassing an intern on the set of one of his movies in 1985.
Anna Graham Hunter, a writer, says that when she was 17, Dustin Hoffman groped her and made inappropriate comments to her.
Dustin Hoffman apologized, and said he was sorry if he “put her in an uncomfortable situation”.
In a statement to the magazine, the Oscar-winning actor said: “I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am.”
Senior editor Michael Oreskes has resigned from National Public Radio (NPR) following accusations he kissed female colleagues without their consent during business meetings.
The 63-year-old was asked to step down by the network in response to the allegations. He has previously worked for the Associated Press and the New York Times.
Two women spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity, and reported stories of abrupt and unexpected kisses during business meetings. They said they were worried about career development if their names were made public.
One of the women said that while she met Michael Oreskes in the hope of getting a job with the New York Times, he suggested that they eat room service lunch in a hotel, before he unexpectedly kissed her and “slipped his tongue into her mouth”.
Michael Oreskes has not commented publicly on the allegations, and journalists at NPR report that they have tried to contact him for comment, without success.
Sayfullo Saipov, the main suspect in the Manhattan truck attack that left eight people dead, says he intended to kill as many people as possible during Halloween celebrations.
The 29-year-old Uzbek immigrant, told investigators he “felt good” about the attack, which he had been planning for a year.
Sayfullo Saipov, who faces federal terrorism charges, says he was inspired by ISIS. He was shot and injured by police at the scene.
President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter: “NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!”
Image source St. Charles County Department of Corrections
The charges filed against Sayfullo Saipov are federal, which means the government can override New York state’s ban on capital punishment.
Sayfullo Saipov appeared in court in a wheelchair 24 hours after mowing down cyclists and pedestrians on a bike lane in Lower Manhattan on October 31.
Six people died at the scene and two more in hospital. Twelve people were injured, four of whom remain in critical condition.
Prosecutors say Sayfullo Saipov spoke freely to them, waiving his right to avoid self-incrimination while in custody.
According to federal court papers, the suspect said the attack was planned two months ago, and he carried out a trial run with a rental truck last month. He intentionally chose Halloween because he believed there would be more people in the streets. Sayfullo Saipov originally planned to target the Brooklyn Bridge as well and he wanted to display ISIS flags on the truck, but decided not to draw attention to himself.
Sayfullo Saipov was inspired by 90 propaganda videos found on his phone – in particular, one in which ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi asks what Muslims are doing to avenge deaths in Iraq.
He is also accused of providing material support and resources to ISIS.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is about bringing all the components of your business together to improve functionality and efficiency, all of which could have a positive impact on your bottom line.
Here is an overview of what ERP is all about together with a look at how it could improve your supply chain strategy and have a positive impact on other aspects of your business, helping you make more informed decisions and reduce wastage.
Understanding the process
Although ERP tends to benefit manufacturing businesses in particular, it is a process that offers a number of streamlining and integration advantages that could benefit many different types of companies if they adopt the principles of the system.
In basic terms, ERP is a description of the process which you use as a virtual nerve center of your business by bringing together all the various components of your operation such as purchasing, sales, inventory, sales and marketing, finance and HR, in a way that allows you to see the whole picture of your setup from one resource rather than individually by department.
The basis of your software system
A good way of looking at what ERP delivers is to see it as the hub that helps you to bring each department together into a centralized communication system.
A software system can be created around the basic principles of ERP and this will make it easier for each part of your business to share information and communicate more easily with each other.
Collating all the data from each department and putting it in one central place has obvious advantages in terms of efficiency and decision-making, as you can see how each decision or activity can impact other areas of the business and overall.
The usefulness of a software system that can update a purchase you make from an online store, for example, and then simultaneously update your inventory, finance records and purchase ledger, is easy to see when it is setup correctly for your business. You can order management software here.
Applying the principles
The analogy about ERP representing the nerve center of your business is no coincidence, as the original system was developed to mimic the functions of the human central nervous system.
If you take that idea and run with it you should be able to create your own system that standardizes and automates certain processes so that you can get access to meaningful data and free up key people to focus on other aspects of the business.
What you get out of a system like ERP depends mainly on what information you put in and how you format that data, but done properly, it can provide some valuable insights into where savings could be made and which parts of the business are most profitable.
Having valuable sales and costings information at your fingertips could make a noticeable difference to how you drive your business forward and if ERP can help you do that, it is worth looking at.
Sayfullo Saipov, the man accused of killing 8 people in Lower Manhattan by driving a truck down a cycle lane, was inspired by ISIS, police say.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller said that notes in Arabic claiming the attack on behalf of ISIS were recovered from the scene of the attack in New York.
Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old Uzbek immigrant, was shot and injured by police.
The suspect is in hospital and under arrest.
John Miller said: “Based on the investigation overnight, it appears that Mr. Saipov had been planning this for a number of weeks.
“He did this in the name of ISIS, and along with the other items recovered at the scene was some notes that further indicate that.
“He appears to have followed almost exactly to a ‘T’ the instructions that ISIS has put out in its social media channels before, with instructions to their followers on how to carry out such an attack.”
One of the notes said “the Islamic State would endure forever”, the deputy commissioner added.
Police have sealed off Sayfullo Saipov’s home in Paterson, New Jersey, and are searching the premises.
ISIS has suffered a series of military setbacks in Syria and Iraq in recent months as US-backed forces take back territory the group considers its “caliphate”.
NYC has increased the police presence at key transport hubs, and there will be additional uniformed and plain-clothes police on duty at Sunday’s New York Marathon.
President Donald Trump said he was taking steps to end the diversity lottery program – the immigration system under which the suspect entered the country.
The president also attacked the US justice system, and said he would consider sending the suspect to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“We also have to come up with punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now,” he said.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have both praised the resilience of New Yorkers – and urged people not to “politicize” a tragedy that took eight lives.
Andrew Cuomo said the attacker was believed to have acted alone, telling reporters: “He is a depraved coward, is what he is, and he was associated with ISIS, and he was radicalized domestically.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Cuomo also suggested New York’s strict gun control laws had ensured that high-powered weapons could not get into the hands of terrorists.
Sayfullo Saipov rented the truck from a New Jersey branch of retailer Home Depot on October 31 before driving to NYC and entering the bike lane, police said.
Video cameras show the truck driving at very high speed, appearing to target bike riders and pedestrians.
Incidents regarding Kevin Spacey are also alleged to have taken place in the UK while the Oscar-winning was the artistic director at the Old Vic in London between 2004 and 2015.
Roberto Cavazos, who acted in several plays at the theater, claims Kevin Spacey “routinely preyed” on young male actors.
The Mexican actor wrote in a Facebook post: “It seems the only requirement was to be a male under the age of 30 for Mr. Spacey to feel free to touch us.”
Roberto Cavazos said he fended off two “unpleasant” advances from Kevin Spacey that “bordered on harassment”, but that others were afraid to do so.
“There are a lot of us who have a <<Kevin Spacey story>>,” he says.
The Old Vic has set up a confidential complaints process for anyone connected to the 200-year-old theater to come forward.
The theater said in a statement: “We aim to foster a safe and supportive environment without prejudice, harassment or bullying of any sort, at any level.”
Separately, British Daniel Beal claims Kevin Spacey exposed himself to him in 2010, when he was working at a hotel in West Sussex.
The former bartender, then 19-year-old, claims Kevin Spacey also invited him up to his room, but he rejected the star’s advances.
Daniel Beal says the actor gave him his £5,000 watch later that same evening, and a few weeks later called him asking to meet up.
He told the Sun: “In hindsight, that must have been grooming. He was just like his character in House Of Cards – seedy and a bit weird.”
Meanwhile, House of Cards’ production has been suspended following the assault allegations against Kevin Spacey.
House of Cards was already due to end after season 6, but production is now suspended “until further notice”.
Kevin Spacey has also been dropped as the recipient of a special Emmy award he was due to receive next month.
The International TV Academy said in a statement that it was withdrawing the International Emmy Founders Award “in light of recent events”.
Two other ex-aides have been charged as part of the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the US election.
Former campaign chief Paul Manafort and Rick Gates appeared in court on October 30 to deny charges including money laundering.
In his October 31 tweets, President Trump attempted to deflect scrutiny on to the Democratic Party, or his tax reform proposals.
The president wrote on Twitter: “The Fake News is working overtime. As Paul Manaforts [sic] lawyer said, there was ‘no collusion’ and events mentioned took place long before he came to the campaign.”
However, the indictment alleges Paul Manafort and Rick Gates conspired financial crimes from 2006-17, which does include the period over the summer when Manafort served as manager for the Trump campaign.
The president’s tweets continue: “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!”
George Papadopoulos appears in a photo that Donald Trump tweeted of himself in March 2016 hosting a national security meeting with his foreign policy team.
Ousted Catalan leader Carles Puidgemont and 13 other members of his dismissed government have been summoned to appear in Spain’s high court later this week.
The court also gave them three days to pay a deposit of €6.2 million to cover potential liabilities.
The summons comes after Spain’s chief prosecutor said he would press charges including rebellion.
Carles Puigdemont is in Belgium with several former ministers. He earlier said he was not there to seek asylum.
Catalonia’s dismissed president triggered a crisis in Spain by holding an independence referendum on October 1 in the semi-autonomous region despite Madrid’s opposition and the Constitutional Court declaring the vote illegal.
Carles Puigdemont turned up in Brussels on October 30 as Spanish Attorney-General José Manuel Maza called for Catalan leaders to face charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.
The Audiencia National has now summoned the dismissed Catalan officials – who are yet to be formally charged – to testify on November 2 and 3. If they do not appear, prosecutors could order their arrest.
Meanwhile, the speaker of Catalan’s dissolved parliament Carme Forcadell and other former lawmakers have been summoned to the Supreme Court because they still have parliamentary immunity.
Carles Puigdemont earlier said he would return to Spain if guaranteed a fair hearing.
Several of Carles Puigdemont’s former colleagues who remain inside the country may decide to accept the summons and appear in court.
Prosecutors’ arguments against the group were “serious, rational and logical”, Judge Carmen Lamela said in a ruling, according to the AFP.
The charge of rebellion carries a maximum 30-year jail term.
Speaking at a press conference earlier on October 31, Carles Puigdemont said he was not trying to escape justice by travelling to Belgium but wanted to be able to speak freely.
Carles Puigdemont’s comments came as Spain’s constitutional court suspended the declaration of independence made by the Catalan parliament on October 27.
The former leader also said he would accept the result of snap elections in Catalonia on December 21, which were called by Spain’s central government after it invoked Article 155 of the constitution, temporarily suspending the region’s autonomy.
He told reporters: “I want a clear commitment from the state. Will the state respect the results that could give separatist forces a majority?”
Spain’s central government has previously said Carles Puigdemont is welcome to take part in the fresh polls.
Rose McGowan is facing arrest for possession of a controlled substance.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the actress following an investigation into belongings left on a United Airlines flight from LA to Washington Dulles airport in January.
The belongings reportedly belonged to Rose McGowan and had traces of a controlled substance.
Washington police obtained the warrant on February 1, spokesman Rob Yingling said.
The authorities say they have been trying to contact Rose McGowan so she can appear in court in Virginia.
Rose McGowan, 44, is among the most prominent accusers of Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul facing multiple allegations of assault and harassment.
Writing on Twitter on October 30, Rose McGowan hit out at the arrest warrant, asking: “Are they trying to silence me?”
Rose McGowan has accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997. She received a $100,000 settlement after the incident, according to a New York Times report.
Through a spokesperson, Harvey Weinstein has denied any non-consensual contacts.
According to the New York Times, someone approached Rose McGowan’s lawyer in September to offer $1 million in exchange for her signature on a nondisclosure agreement regarding Harvey Weinstein’s conduct.
Rose McGowan told the Times she countered with a request for $6 million, but withdrew the counter-offer when the newspaper published allegations against Harvey Weinstein from several women.
One witness, identified as “Eugene,” told ABC Channel 7 that he saw a white pick-up truck driving fast down the cycle path alongside the West Side Highway, near Stuyvesant High School, at full speed and hitting a number of people.
The witness also reported hearing about nine or 10 shots.
In a series of tweets, the NYPD described what happened:
“Earlier a vehicle entered the West St. pedestrian/bike path a few blocks north of Chambers St.
“The vehicle struck multiple people on the path. There are several fatalities and numerous people injured.
“The vehicle continued south striking another vehicle. The suspect exited the vehicle displaying imitation firearms & was shot by NYPD
“The suspect is in custody. This is preliminary, more information to follow.”
House of Cards production will be suspended following assault allegations against Kevin Spacey.
Kevin Spacey, who stars in the political drama, has been accused of making inappropriate advances to14-year-old actor Anthony Rapp.
The Netflix show had already said it would end after the 6th season, but now say they will permanently “suspend production”.
Meanwhile, London’s Old Vic theater, where Kevin Spacey worked for 11 years say they are “deeply dismayed” by the allegations.
The 200-year-old theater has set up a confidential complaints process for anyone connected to the Old Vic to come forward.
The Old Vic said in a statement: “We aim to foster a safe and supportive environment without prejudice, harassment or bullying of any sort, at any level.”
The decision to end House of Cards was announced in a joint statement by Netflix and Media Rights Capital (MRC), a production company that makes the series.
The statement said: “MRC and Netflix have decided to suspend production on House of Cards season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew.”
The announcement comes after Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of inappropriately touching him when he was 14 years old.
Kevin Spacey, who is also executive director of House of Cards, said he owed Anthony Rapp, now 46, a “sincere apology” for what he said would have been “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior”.
The Oscar-winning actor also announced that he was now living “as a gay man”, but he has been widely criticized for choosing this moment to come out.
On October 30, producers said House of Cards would end after its 6th season, which they recently began filming at a studio near Baltimore.
A Netflix representative said the decision to end the series in 2018 had been made months ago.
However, according to Variety magazine, producers are considering a spin-off series.
House of Cards first debuted in 2013 and gathered nine Emmy nominations in the first season, becoming the first online streaming series to win such mainstream accolades.
As many as 126 million American Facebook users may have seen content uploaded by Russia-based operatives over the past two years, the social networking site said.
According to Facebook, about 80,000 posts were produced before and after the 2016 US presidential election.
Most of the posts focused on divisive social and political messages.
Facebook released the figures ahead of a Senate hearing where it – together with Twitter and Google – will detail Russia’s impact on the social networks.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that it attempted to influence the last US presidential election, in which Republican Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
In a separate major development on October 30, an investigation by independent counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia produced its first charges against three former aides, and a guilty plea.
President Donald Trump has dismissed allegations of collusion with Russia, and has repeatedly called on Hillary Clinton to be investigated.
The latest figures released by Facebook have been seen by Reuters and the Washington Post.
The 80,000 posts were published between June 2015 and August 2017.
According to Facebook, they were posted by a Russian company linked to the Kremlin.
Reuters reports that Facebook’s general counsel Colin Stretch said: “These actions run counter to Facebook’s mission of building community and everything we stand for.
“And we are determined to do everything we can to address this new threat.”
The Washington Post reported on October 30 that Google revealed that Russian trolls uploaded more than 1,000 videos on YouTube on 18 different channels.
Meanwhile, Twitter found and suspended all 2,752 accounts that it had tracked to Russia-based Internet Research Agency, a source familiar with the company’s written testimony was quoted as saying by Reuters.
So, you want to look at the options that you have when it comes to keeping your skin as healthy as it can be. Thankfully, there are many different ways that you can utilize essential oils and other oils in order to keep everything in order. Here’s a quick look at 5 of the best oils that you can use in order to keep your skin in the best shape possible.
Need to Cleanse Your Skin? Try Sunflower Oil
Sunflower oil is known for having cleansing and detoxification properties, which is why many people will use it as a part of their cooking. Consider using it as a part of your skin cleansing routine and you will find that the dry skin issues that you may have been dealing with are much more controllable than they may have been in the past.
Utilize Coconut Oil to Get Rid of Dry Skin Issues
Many people have a lot of problems with dry skin, which can actually result in wrinkles if you aren’t careful. So, you want to make sure that you take some time to moisturize your skin and Coconut Oil can be a great product that will help you to get a bit of life back into your skin yet again.
Image source Public Domain Pictures
Try Using CBD Oil On a Regular Basis
Lately, many people are asking about CBD Oil – What Is It and How It Can Help You. The fact is, CBD oil, which is from the hemp plant, can do your skin a lot of good. It can rejuvenate dry skin, help oily skin to find its balance, and make it so that you don’t have as many issues with wrinkles and the like. Those benefits can be huge as you’re working out what you may need to do.
Is Your Skin Too Oily? Grapeseed Oil Can Help You Out
Grapeseed oil can help your skin to balance out the problems that may come along with oily skin. Not only can that help you to get things in order, but you’ll also find that it’s much easier to make sure that your skin can keep its balance and that you aren’t going to have to worry too much about other problems that can come with oily skin.
Add Rose Oil to Your Daily Routine to Prevent Wrinkles
Rose oil doesn’t only smell good, but it makes it so that you can keep your skin in the best condition possible. Using it on your skin on a regular basis actually, helps to increase its elasticity. Why does that matter? Because the more elastic that your skin is, the easier it will be for you to go ahead and prevent problems that are related to wrinkles. Not only that, but you’ll also find that it’s a lot easier to keep your skin from drying out, as well.
Laser hair removal is high tech process of removing your unwanted body and facial hair without the scratches, burns, and redness that comes with waxing and shaving.
Laser hair removal is a popular permanent hair removal solution. It does not entirely remove your body hair, but it does decrease and diminish hair development and the need for shaving. The procedure is safe to use on most parts of the body, including the legs, arms and armpits, swimsuit zone, chest, back, and even the face.
How Does Laser Hair Removal Work?
Any administration with “laser” in its name may appear to be threatening, but it isn’t. The hair follicle picks up the energy coming from the laser which then kills the root,” clarifies New York dermatologist Dr. Margarita Lolis. Once the root dies, it can no longer produce and grow hair follicle.
What Should You Look For in a Treatment Center?
Do your research and exploration. In the first place, you need to make sure that you go to an experienced, legitimate center that is committed to laser hair removal as they represent considerable authority in this field and have the most experience in conveying permanent outcomes. Second, pick a clinic or hair removal center with high-quality and well-maintained pieces of equipment.
For instance, the best brands are Synchro Excellium 3.4 by DEKA, Cynosure, and Candela. “The Synchro Replay Excellium 3.4 suggested, as its profile and speed take into consideration a quick and viable treatment with negligible inconvenience,” says Karavolas, who likewise prescribes avoiding a strategic distance from IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) gadgets, which aren’t as successful. These devices focus on the epidermis, they work on the skin’s surface and does not target the hair development inside the follicle as adequately as a good laser does.
Consider It An Investment
Indeed, it may appear to be costly compared to a pack of razors, but its benefits are efficient and long-lasting. The effect of laser hair removal lasts up to 90% permanent removal of undesirable hair growth which renders value for your money. In contrast with other hair removal techniques such as electrolysis, laser hair removal is more practical than and saves you from the lifetime expenses of shaving or waxing.
Who Are the Best Candidates For Laser Hair Removal?
If you have a dark hair and have been irritated with how stubborn it can be with regards to the removal process, laser hair removal is the best solution for you. It works best with coarse, thick, dark hair.
It can take a longer process to work at a thicker hair entirely. “Some hair is resistant due to hormonal changes or active hair bulbs amidst the treatment process,” clarifies Dr. Birnur, Director of the Good Beauty Lab, who has personal involvement with laser hair expulsion.
Go For a Consultation
A consultation with an expert of hair removal before your first treatment will enable the center to evaluate your health. They will likewise administer a fixed test to decide if you are a good candidate for the procedure, and which process will work best according to your skin and the type of your hair.
Takeaway
Love smooth skin that is hairless but hates waxing and razors? You’re not the only one who craves for a permanent solution. Laser hair removal is expensive, and it requires several follow-up treatments, yer there are simple steps that you can take before and after your treatment that will help you to maximize the benefits that you gain coming from the process.
