Qantas has unveiled a new international wing at Perth Airport's Terminal 3 designed to offer a hassle-free experience for passengers on the airline's new nonstop service to London, which starts this month.
Set to open on March 24, the spacious new international wing in Perth, Australia is designed to offer passengers a more intimate and smoother experience than T1. To start with, the new wing will handle just one flight at a time, meaning a calm atmosphere should pervade. There is, however, room for expansion as additional flights are added.
Featuring a variety of shops as well as a new Qantas lounge, the new area will swing between domestic and international operations depending on the time of day.
As of March 24, Qantas services to Singapore and Auckland will also operate from the new wing.
March 24 is also the day that Qantas will become the first airline to operate non-stop flights between Perth and London. Flown by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the 14,498-kilometre flight will be the first passenger service to directly link Australia with Europe, becoming the shortest and fastest version of the Kangaroo Route in its 70-year history.
Read about the food that will be served on the route here.
Qantas opened a spacious new lounge at Heathrow's Terminal 3 towards the end of last year in preparation for the landmark Perth-London route. You read more about it here.
And if you would like to learn more about the history of flying between the UK and Australia, and how the flight time between the two has been reduced from two weeks to 15 hours, take a look at our article 'How Time Flies: The History Of Flights From The UK To Australia'.


Begin day at 6:00 AM.
Josh and Matt began cutting parts for a kitchen project. This one is begin built from Rustic Alder and will have raised panel doors, drawer fronts, and exposed sides.
Tom and Kelly went to a client's home just west of LaPlata to put finishing touches on a previously installed project.
Tom and Kelly returned to shop and make some phone calls.
Went to lunch at Grandma's Home Cookin' in LaPlata, MO.
After lunch, Tom went to Cardwell Lumber at Novelty, MO, for a meeting with Leroy and Mark Cardwell.


An approachable Ovation Pro Script Language Primer is provided for those readers who are unfamiliar with the C-style syntax used by Ovation Pro's script language.
Click the icon to the right to download the Ovation Pro script examples associated with this article.
Ovation Pro, the desktop publishing application by David Pilling, has a built-in script language that allows you to extend the application's features and add extra functionality.
In this article I aim to describe how to use the script language to do some simple tasks, followed by an explanation of how to construct Ovation Pro applets. I will work through an example applet that can be used as a basis for your own applets, and then polish it off into what I hope will be a useful applet in its own right.
Ovation Pro's script language is based on the C programming language, so for many people it will be quick and easy to learn, but for those people who are unfamiliar with C, the companion Script Language Primer article will explain the basics in order to get you started.
Before we start any coding, let me describe my working environment and the tools I use when I'm writing applets. Some of the applications and tools are included on this disc, so, if you haven't already got them, just click on the appropriate links.
First of all you will need a text editor. My personal preference is StrongED, but others may favour Zap. There is also Edit, the text editor built into RISC OS. You could even use Ovation Pro itself as an editor, but because you will need to run and quit Ovation Pro regularly while you are developing your applets, a separate text editor is better.
A template editor will be required if your applet is going to have its own windows. TemplEd and WinEd are popular alternatives.
Bitmanip is another useful tool (but then I would say that, wouldn't I?!) that will help when you need to swap between decimal, hexadecimal and binary numbers, or when you need to toggle the bit pattern of a number. A copy is provided with this article; click the icon to the right to download it.
A final very helpful piece of freeware is Reporter. This provides a convenient way of adding debugging information to your applet while you are developing it: by using a simple *-command you can send text that will appear in Reporter's window.
Ovation Pro is compatible with throwback error handling. If Ovation Pro finds an error in your applet code when it is first loaded, it will display the error in a normal RISC OS-style error box. If, however, throwback is enabled, the error message will be displayed in a throwback window showing the line number on which the error occurred. A click on the throwback window will open the file that contained the error, and the caret will be placed in the offending line. To enable the use of throwback you need the DDEUtils module and a throwback-compliant editor (both StrongED and Zap comply). The DDEUtils module that provides throwback was originally part of Acorn's C/C++ application development environment package, but is now included in ROM from RISC OS 4 onwards.
My final suggestion is to create a new directory for your applet development work, and in this directory make a separate copy of Ovation Pro. Use this copy to try out your applets while you are developing them; this will keep your normal working copy safe and avoid your making changes to your good version that will prevent you from continuing with your normal work. While you are creating your applet you will regularly be loading and quitting Ovation Pro each time you make changes to your applet code, so removing any applets that are not needed from your development version of Ovation Pro will make it load much more quickly.
Before we start looking at writing an applet we'll begin with the very basics of using the script language itself and see how we can make Ovation Pro do some simple things.
You don't have to write a complete applet in order to utilise Ovation Pro's script language; functions can be used in macro definitions, and a simple script file can be used to perform a variety of actions.
Our first example is a script file. Script files are created in a text editor and saved with a filetype setting of &b24 (OvPScrpt). Double-clicking the file will cause it to be processed by Ovation Pro if Ovation Pro is already loaded. If it isn't, then Ovation Pro will be loaded first, as long as it has been seen by the filer. A script may also be executed by dragging it to Ovation Pro's icon on the icon bar.
Looking at the code from this file, we can see that the first three lines are comments and will be ignored by Ovation Pro. The next part of the example forms our main() function. As explained in the Primer, every script file must have a function called main() if you want the script to actually perform any useful tasks. In this example, the function main() contains just one line of code: type("Foundation RISC User");. When Ovation Pro executes this line, it will enter the words Foundation RISC User at the current caret position in an open Ovation Pro document, as though you had typed the text at the keyboard. If there is no Ovation Pro document open with a caret in it then you will not see anything happen, so be sure to open a document and click to place the caret in a text frame before you run the example file. Figure 1 shows the result you should expect.
So, what is actually happening in our function? The words Foundation RISC User are passed to the 'command' called type(), which does the job of entering the text. type() is in fact a function which is built into Ovation Pro's script language. It needs to be passed a string of characters which will be entered into the document, and we do this by wrapping up our text in double quotation marks.
After the type() function has been called, and the text is inserted into the current document, Ovation Pro continues to work through our script file from where it left off, but as there is nothing else in our function, Ovation Pro reaches the end of the script file and finishes processing it. As this example script is a separate, external file which was run from the magazine disc, all its functions and variables are discarded, after execution.
Let's now try something a little more complex. The next script introduces many new concepts: we will see the use of variables, if statements, while loops, and another function in our file that requires a parameter to be passed to it and which then returns a value.
This script is an example of how we can insert some text in a different font into a document. As a practical demonstration it will insert a phone number with a telephone symbol preceding the numbers. The symbol will be picked from the Selwyn font, if it is available. If Selwyn is not installed, the script will instead type the word Tel:. The text will be inserted at Ovation Pro's current caret position, so to test this script you should again make sure that you have a document open with the red caret visible in a text frame when you run the script file. Figure 2 shows what you can expect to see.
Those of you who are proficient in programming in C will, no doubt, spot the areas where this script could be rewritten to make it more compact and efficient, but I wanted to keep the programming simple and logical for those who are just beginning with C-style commands.
5.  // Insert a telephone number.
7.  // if the font is installed.
To make it easier to describe the code, I have numbered each line. If you are copying this directly from this page then the numbers should not be included.
Line 31 calls caretcontext(), which instructs Ovation Pro to set the internal cached values of style parameters to those at the caret. This helps Ovation Pro to read the font values from the correct open document.
Line 32 calls getfont(), which is a function built into Ovation Pro that returns the handle of the font at the caret, or throughout the selection, as an integer. The value it returns will be stored in our existingfont integer that we declared earlier.
At line 33 we call a function of our own that was defined earlier in our script: between lines 9 and 24. Line 9 defines the start of the function with int typefnt_getfonthandle(string fontname). Take note of the text between the parentheses: this means that the function requires a value to be passed to it when we call it. In this case, the function requires a string value which it will store in a variable called fontname. The function will also return a value when it finishes, as can be seen by the int type at the start of the line signifying that this function will return an integer value. When we call this function on line 33, we pass the font name of "Selwyn" as this is the font for which we want to find the font handle.
So let's now have a look at what this function does. Lines 12 and 13 declare a couple of local variables. The first is an integer called handle, which is assigned the value of 0, and the second is a string called name. Next, we have a while loop which will evaluate the part in parentheses. If it evaluates to non-zero then the lines of code between the braces will be executed, after which it repeats the whole process until the part in parentheses evaluates to zero. In our while loop's expression, we have, in parentheses, getfontname(handle,name), which calls the Ovation Pro function getfontname. This returns in name the name of the font for the handle number passed in handle. This function returns a non-zero value if a font with that handle exists, or zero if no font exists with that handle, which is very handy as it gives us a simple way of checking through all the font handles until we find the one we want to match.
So, as we start the loop, we have the handle number set to 0. After the call to getfontname, handle will refer to font 0. If there is actually a font with this handle then the part inside the braces is executed, and this checks to see whether the name of font 0 matches the name we are searching for. This is done with the if command, and, should we get a match, the current font handle is returned to the code that called our function (line 33). If it didn't match then we increment handle by 1 with handle++ and the loop will repeat through the process again. Should getfonthandle return zero to show that the font handle doesn't exist, then the section in the braces won't be executed and we will drop through to line 23, where we will return -1 to signify that we didn't match our required font. The return keyword allows the function to return a value, but the type of the value returned must match the type that was specified at the start of the function definition. So, for example, if the function was an int type, we couldn't pass back a string. Of course, many functions don't pass back any values at all, and these are typed as void, but we can still use the return keyword to jump out of the function at any time and back to the point at which it was called. In this case, the return keyword is similar to ENDPROC in Basic.
After calling our function typefnt_getfonthandle(), it should run though its code and return an integer, either a valid font handle or -1 if it didn't find the font we asked for. Back in our main() function we check that the returned value is not -1 by using if(newfont != -1). If it is not -1 then, at line 37, the current font is changed to Selwyn and the character 'a' is typed into the document, which produces a telephone symbol in this particular typeface. At line 39 we switch back to the original font and type our telephone number. If the Selwyn font wasn't found then -1 would have been returned, in which case we just type the telephone number preceded by the word "Tel: ". For this example script to be of any use, you will of course need to change the phone number to your own.
A final point worth noting is that, during the testing of this script, it was discovered that in some circumstances the Selwyn font was not being applied correctly in the typed text. This was despite the fact that the script detected that the Selwyn font was available and inserted the correct character. This happened when a new document was opened but had not received a mouse-click or keypress somewhere in the document. Ovation Pro detects these events and sets its internal references to use that document, and that particular view of the document, for any scripts that are being run. Without these references being set, our script doesn't read the font settings correctly. The use of caretcontext(); helps to alleviate the problem, so hopefully you won't see the problem manifest itself here. Nevertheless, it is a good idea in general to have clicked or typed in a document before double-clicking on a script file to launch it from the filer, or, in this specific instance, before clicking the 'Run' icon above to launch example script 2.
So far we've seen how a script file can be used to perform some simple tasks, but let's now expand on this further and look at how to construct an applet.
An applet is created as a directory within Ovation Pro's Applets directory. Your applet's directory should be named so that it starts with a ! character like normal RISC OS applications. You should also be aware that your applet's directory name must also allow for a - character to be added at the end, so in reality it's better to keep your applet's directory name to eight characters or fewer, so that you don't have more than ten characters in total when the ! and - are added. This will avoid potential problems should Ovation Pro be running on a filing system that doesn't support long filenames.
Within your newly-created applet directory you will need a number of files. Figure 3 shows a common selection for a typical applet.
First is an Obey file named !ARun. It's common for this file to be empty in many applets, but it has an important function when required: this file is obeyed by Ovation Pro when it is first loaded, as it works its way through each of the applets in turn. This makes this file an ideal place in which to add any special setup requirements that may be needed by the applet, such as checking for particular modules or setting system variables, in a similar way as a !Run file is used in a standard application.
!Help is a text file that should explain what your applet does.
!Info is a text file that follows a particular format. Your applet's current version number is stored in this file, along with a brief description of what your applet does, and of course your name as the applet's author. This file should also contain the details of the minimum version of Ovation Pro that this applet will work with. But note that this number isn't actually checked in any way by Ovation Pro; it's just there for reference.
!Run is a special utility file that does the job of enabling or disabling the applet when the applet is double-clicked. When the applet is disabled, its name will end with a - and, commonly, a cross will appear over its icon (if it has one). For your own applet, just copy the !Run utility into the directory from another existing applet.
AResources is a directory that Ovation Pro will look in to find the resources used by your applet, such as a sprite file called Buttons that holds the button bar buttons, a Help text file containing the interactive help messages for the any defined windows, a Messages file, a Sprites file, and the Templates file for the window definitions for the applet.
Library is a directory that holds the applet's script file. Any script files inside this directory will be executed by Ovation Pro during its loading sequence.
A !Sprites file is optional, and allows you to give your applet a nice fancy icon when it is visible in the Applets directory, in the same way as any other RISC OS application. I personally like to include an icon to help distinguish the applet from all the others in the directory, and I also include an icon that clearly shows when the applet has been disabled. Whenever I add a !Sprites file, I also add a !Boot Obey file that includes the line IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites to make the applet directory display the sprites when the filer display is opened.
So, let's get down to actually creating an applet. If you are following my earlier suggestion, you will be building this applet inside a second copy of Ovation Pro that you have copied to another directory on your hard disc, to avoid any problems that may occur as a result of messing with your current working copy. <Shift>-double-click to open the !OvnPro application directory, then open the Applets directory situated within. I'm going to call this example applet GrabText so create a new directory called !GrabText. Into this directory we need to copy some files from an existing applet; in this instance I'm copying them from the ColSupp applet. Copy the files !ARun, !Help, !Info and !Run. The !ARun file is an empty Obey file, so we don't need to do anything with that, but we should edit the !Help file to describe what the applet does, and change the details in !Info.
The next task is to create a directory called Library to hold our script file. To avoid the rather long and boring process of creating a full script file for this example applet, I've supplied one ready to use, with the hope that it includes a number of useful functions that can be used for your own applet ideas, either by adding to this applet or by adapting it for your own purposes.
Within the supplied !GrabText example applet is a script file named GrabText, housed in the Library directory. I'm not going to explain all the code in this script, as this would take up too much space, but there are plenty of comments throughout the code to explain what it does in detail. I will, however, explain what the supplied functions do and how you can use them.
The basic idea of this applet is to select the word under the caret and then allow that word to be dealt with by the applet. This could include such things as replacing the word by another one, or passing the word on to another external application for further processing.
The functions supplied in GrabText are broken down in a number of operations to make it easier for you to use just the ones you need for your particular requirements. The first of these is grabtext_selectword(), which will select the text under the caret and return a string to the part of the script that called it. This function uses three bookmarks to read the word one character at a time. When it has finished reading the word it leaves bookmark number one at the start of the word and bookmark number two at the end so that we can find the word position later if we require it. The third bookmark is used as a temporary counter; it is no longer needed at the end of the function, so it is deleted.
Bookmarks are invisible markers that may be positioned and moved around within text stories. Typically they are used by scripts which need to scan through stories, locating and replacing text strings. Bookmarks are retained in the document when saved, so they should be deleted when we have finished with them, and for this purpose we have the function grabtext_deletebookmarks(). Before we delete the bookmarks, however, we may want to replace the text with some new text, and grabtext_replaceword() will allow us to do that by passing a string to the function, where it will be typed into the document to replace the original selected word. Once we have replaced the original word with our new one, we may want to have the new word selected, to highlight to the user what has changed. This can be achieved with grabtext_selectbookmarked_text(), which will select the text between the two bookmarks (which will have been moved to either end of the newly replaced text).
The first line is there to initialise and create the Applets menu if no other applet has done so before ours. The second line is the one that actually adds our entry onto the Applets menu. If you look up the definition of the addentry_menu() function, you will see that it requires six parameters. The first is the handle of the menu to which we wish to add the entry: in this case it's the Applets menu, whose handle is stored in the variable script_handle. Next is the name of the function that is executed when the entry is chosen: here we are going to call grabtext_example(), which is described below. The following parameters are not needed in this instance, except for the last one which is the text that will appear as the menu's entry. For this example, "Grab"Text" will be displayed.
The first thing to note about this function definition is that the function requires two integer parameters when called. In reality, our function won't use these parameters, and they are only there because the mechanism used by addentry_menu() to call our function, when the menu item is chosen, needs to pass two parameters. Also note that our function is expected to return the integer sub that has been passed to it, so the function definition reflects this on line 1, showing that the function returns an int type. Line 9 does the job of actually returning the variable sub.
Now we can take at look at the code in the function that does the things we require it to do.
Line 3 defines a string variable called word which will hold the text that is returned from the call to function grabtext_selectword() on line 4. To show that we have the correct text stored in word, we will display it on-screen in a message box (on line 5). Line 6 makes a call to our function grabtext_replaceword() and passes to it a string of characters that will be inserted into the document to replace the original word. To show the user that the word has been changed, we can select the new text that has been inserted by calling grabtext_selectbookmarked_text(). Finally, on line 8 we tidy up after ourselves by calling grabtext_deletebookmarks(), which removes the bookmarks from the document so that they won't be saved in the file.
So, looking at our grabtext_example() function, we can see that it's not really all that useful in itself; who in their right mind would want to go through a document replacing words with the text "New Replaced Text"? But it does show how easy it is to use these four handy functions to select a word and, if we wish, to replace it with another.
Using these functions, we can select a word and pass it on to another application if we so wish, and to serve as an example, the GrabText applet has another function to demonstrate this. This time it selects the word and attempts to perform a StrongHelp lookup on the word. I won't describe the function in this article, but it is fully commented in the code and describes what is going on.
Notice that, this time, we've included S_F1 as parameter five. This adds a keyboard shortcut to the menu item. Key names are the same as those used for macro definitions, so in this example <Shift-F1> will call our function. Figure 4 shows what we have just added to the Applets menu.
It's now up to you to think of other ideas and put this applet to good use. I've used the basis of this applet to create another, called URLlink, which selects the text under the caret and broadcasts it as an URL/URI, allowing such things as Web site and email addresses that are present in an Ovation Pro document to be launched in a Web browser or email client. The selection code in URLlink is slightly changed so that it can select the appropriate text that makes up an URL. As for other ideas, how about an applet that looks up the word in an on-line dictionary, thesaurus or translation site? The mechanism within URLlink for broadcasting the URLs, which is a simple little utility called URLcast, could be used to find the word on the required Internet site.
Hopefully this article will have provided some insight into the creation of Ovation Pro scripts and applets, and will inspire you to have a go at creating your own. There are numerous applets available, many written by the author of Ovation Pro, David Pilling, and plenty of third party applets, which serve as good examples of the further techniques that are available to applet writers, such as creating windows and icons etc. Many of my own applets, which are supplied here on the Foundation RISC User disc, include plenty of remarks to assist others to understand the code and techniques being used.
This article was originally published by Foundation RISC User magazine, and is reproduced here by permission of RISCOS Ltd and Richard Hallas.


Welcome to everyone that has gotten accepted for August 2017! I am beyond excited to meet and get to know everyone! I figured we could get started to connect. So if you would like to tell a little bit about yourself such as: Where are you coming from (State in the US or country)? What are you looking forward to with starting medical school the most? will you be doing the FIU global MD program? If you want to share a social media or email for us to stay connected please PM or list it below with the other information. And any other neat thing that you would like us to know about you. Look forward to meeting everyone.
As long as you have a pulse, you will get in. AUA will fail most of you guys out and take your money. I'm not joking. Less than 30% passed med 1 and people still fail out every semester. Only those who have been kicked out of other schools or are repeating med 1 passed the first semester. Passing med 1 does not guarantee you would pass med 2 and other semesters. Compare the curriculum at AUA with US schools and you will see that it was structured to fail people out. Even if it takes you ten years to get into US schools,it is better to wait. 220 on USMLE can get you into ER & Anesthesiology from US schools, but even with a 240 from the carribean you are not guaranteed of psychiatry which many people dread. I'm not here to stop your shine, but I have seen many people spend 2 or 3 years of their lives in carribean medical schools with nothing to show for it at the end.
Less than 30% passed med 1 and people still fail out every semester. Only those who have been kicked out of other schools or are repeating med 1 passed the first semester.
If you are going to spread a rumor then at least make it truthful. 45% of the Med 1 Class made it to Med 2. As for your second statement, who is giving you all of this false information that you are dumping out here? There are Many people in Med 2 who are not repeaters/transfers. Get your facts straight.
Source: I am a Med 2.
You call my information false???
How many of the incoming Med 1 students made it to med 2,I'm not talking about repeats or transfers. If you know our classmates well you will realize that many of them were in different carribean med schools before they were axed out. These people and repeats passed Med 1 . For those of us who have never gone to any Carribean med School or repeated, how many made it to Med 2.This still validates my less than 45% statistics . Did the school provide the class average for our block 2 and block 3 exams?? No, they didn't. Maybe your friends never studied but majority of people I know put in their best and I would repeat it for the 100000th time AUA is not a good school. These applies to other shady Carribean Med schools.
There are success stories from Carribean medical schools but believe me, it is still a gamble.I would rather have a good time in Vegas Casinos than toss away hundreds of thousands at AUA.
TBH I have encountered many people in our class who are neither repeaters nor have transferred here from any other medical school. Yes, you are correct in that the school never provided us the class average for Block 2 and Block 3, but even if they did provide it, what difference would that have made it to a students prospective performance on the following block? Just like myself, I am pretty sure you heard rumors as well about class avg for block being anywhere between mid 30s to high 40s, but then again they are just rumors. I know plenty of people including myself who never took most of these courses in the past, yet did well in all three blocks. You just can't let the rumors get to your head.
There's only one thing that I have to say in regards to your "..majority of people I know put in their best" statement: Quality of Studying >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Quantity of Studying. Studying 24 hours a day is not going to get one anywhere, it's the quality of your studying that matters. I do not however by any means claim that you yourself never studied enough, I am pretty sure as you stated, you did put your best efforts forward.
I agree, not only AUA, but every other Caribbean School is technically not a good school, because they leave the onus on you to succeed unlike American Schools. The teaching is inferior compared to the schools in states etc, I totally agree but let's face it, if one can't get into an American MD/DO then Caribbean is the last option. Being a good school or not, it's a hurdle you have to pass to get to be a MD. As you said and I rightfully agree, it definitely is a gamble and you start off with a bad hand but then again, for some people there is no other way to become a MD than to be a part of this gamble and try to outperform the dealer.
I am not a pro-AUA student as well, I hate alot of things about the school as well, Such as: Dean's Hour + EED (both worthless and biggest waste of time), Visiting Faculty with limited teaching ability etc, but what can I do about it? nothing. All I can do is try to somehow make it despite of these obstacles.
Hey! I'll be starting August 2017 as well! I am coming from Florida.
I was accepted into the global MD program!
I'm most looking forward to getting these first 2 years over with as I've heard they're the hardest, and just starting this new chapter in my life.
I'm new to valuemd and not 100% sure how to work it yet lol.
I am not sure. What is the Global MD program means?


Marcus Herzig, future bestselling author and professional cynic, was born in 1970 and studied Law, English, Educational Science, and Physics, albeit none of them with any tenacity or ambition. After dropping out of university he held various positions in banking, utilities, and Big Oil that bore no responsibility or decision-making power whatsoever.
Always destined to be a demiurge, he has been inventing characters¹ and telling stories since the age of five. His favorite genre, both as a reader and a writer, is Young Adult literature, but he also very much enjoys science- and literary fiction.
¹ Some say: fake identities.
² Not that they get to go to the beach very often, but even so.
³LOL, no. But follow him anyway.
⁴ No spam. Pinky promise.


Russian Armed Forces Supreme Commander in Chief, President Vladimir Putin has ordered a surprise check of the combat preparedness of the Eastern Military District, Russian Defense Minister Gen. of the Army Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with senior military commanders.
"Consistent with his orders, Eastern Military District troops, as well as formations and military units stationed on its territory will be put on full combat alert at 10 a.m. Moscow time today," Shoigu said.
Along with a surprise inspection, Putin has instructed the Defense Ministry and the Main Directorate for Special Programs to check the readiness of a number of federal ministries, other agencies, and regional administrations in the district to perform their duties in wartime, Shoigu said.
In particular, the Industry and Trade Ministry, the Communications Ministry, the Transport Ministry, the Federal Press and Mass Communications Agency (Rospechat), the Federal Communications Agency (Rossvyaz), the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation), the Federal Road Transport Agency (Rosavtodor), the Federal Railway Transport Agency (Rosszheldor), the Federal Sea and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot) and organizations reporting to them, and the administrations of the Trans-Baikal, Primorye, Khabarovsk and Kamchatka Territories and the Amur and Sakhalin regions will be inspected to evaluate their "readiness to perform their duties in wartime."
The defense minister ordered practicing the establishment of special groups, the technical protection of strategic railroads, motor roads and other routes to be used by armed forces in their movements, and the transfer of civilian ships to the Navy.
The inspection will last from September 11 to 18, Shoigu said.
He also ordered that, in conducting the inspection, "proper safety precautions be taken, safekeeping of weapons and ammunition be ensured, damage to government property be ruled out, and negative impact on the environment be prevented."


Walking into the unknown… the new… the unseen, can be scary. It takes faith over fear . Whether it's change, transition or total newness, it's new territory to travel upon and the unexpected is around every corner.
To some, it's uncomfortable. To some, it's exciting. I'm just at a place where I don't want to let the comfort of conventional stop me from dreaming big and walking into new places and spaces.
One life to live. In preparation for life eternal.
In our recent adventures, the @biba_m_usahas been our new companion. A good swivel stroller is key to a mama's exploring with the kiddos! Loving our new @biba_m_usa!
This entry was posted by Mario Guastella in Biba Chat.


Between our loading solutions there is the UNL, an extendible shelving modules roller conveyor that, thanks to his peculiar shape, allows to perform a fast movement and minimizes the space occupied on the ground.
UNL doesn't simply speed up the loading process but, making the work much easier, protects the health of workers too, granting them a more ergonomic position during work. Two rams inserted in the structure allow to adjust UNL's height at both sides (max height variation + / -150 mm). UNL is available both gravity and motorized.


text:
4 DIFFERENT CITIES, 3 COMMON THEMES -...
4 different cities, 3 common themes - the 2016 Special Mention cities
Scattered across the globe, the four Special Mention cities of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize 2016 may appear to have little in common. But the details of their recent transformations reveal how key themes and priorities, translated into long-term plans and programmes that reflect local needs and concerns, have guided their efforts to become more liveable and sustainable cities.
Auckland, Sydney, Toronto and Vienna – the 4 Special Mention Cities of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize 2016 © Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize
Four cities from three global regions – Oceania, North America and Europe – are named Special Mentions of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize 2016: Auckland, Sydney, Toronto and Vienna. These cities serve as cultural and commercial centres in very different parts of the world, but what they have in common is a commitment towards greater liveability that has made a real and enduring difference in the lives of their communities.
Each of these cities has in recent years embarked on an ambitious programme to address unique challenges as well as nurture a living environment that offers spaces for both people and nature. The solutions devised by each city have been tailored to the specific needs and nuances of local communities. But it is possible to identify three shared themes that underpin the transformation of these cities into exemplars of urban development: support for local communities and cultures; investments in the environment and public spaces; and a long-term plan that involves the city's leadership, stakeholders and residents.
Culture and communities
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata ("It is people, it is people, it is people") is a Māori proverb that guides Auckland's policy-making processes, which strives to put the people first, not least the first-peoples of New Zealand's largest city. Though a cosmopolitan city of 1.5 million, Auckland cherishes a special relationship with its indigenous Māori; government decisions and programmes must take into account the concerns of an independent Māori statutory board.
Many of Auckland's Māori and Pacific Islanders, who make up a quarter of the population, live in the city's poorest areas in the south and east. To boost the liveability of these once-neglected neighbourhoods, the city is working closely with local residents through the Southern Initiative and Transforming Tamaki programmes, which provide targeted assistance such as trades training for youth and improved housing and healthcare facilities. In Glen Innes, another disadvantaged suburb in the east, young residents can now learn about, perform and celebrate their culture in the Te Oro Arts and Music Centre for Young People, an award-winning multi-purpose space which opened in 2015.
In Sydney, where the landmark Opera House defines the waterfront, culture forms an integral element in the city's character and future. Sydney's long-term strategic plan, Sustainable Sydney 2030, entails the making of a culturally alive city filled with theatres, libraries and cultural spaces. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which were historically marginalised, have also been extensively consulted for the strategic plan; one result of this is the decade-spanning Eora Journey, which aims to improve these communities' access to education and employment opportunities as well as provide platforms for cultural expression and mutual understanding between the city's diverse residents.
A newcomers welcome info desk at a Toronto public library © Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize
Toronto, meanwhile, owes its cultural diversity to a history of immigration, with nearly half of the population being non-native Canadians from over 170 countries and speaking more than 160 languages. For newcomers, the experience has increasingly become one of welcome and facilitated spaces: local libraries offer helpdesks with multi-lingual, empathetic staff as well as facilities that make it easier to integrate and understand life in the capital of Canada's Ontario province. The city is also investing strongly in its cultural fabric with support for both downtown cultural institutions as well as Local Arts Service Organisations that make creative and cultural activities more inclusive and accessible in under-served neighbourhoods.
Vienna, the city of Mozart and Freud, has no lack of cultural capital. But in remaking itself as a strategic hub between Eastern and Western Europe, Vienna has sought to preserve its historic centre but also move beyond the "museum city" archetype with new facilities. Vienna's Central Train Station, which opened in 2014 and replaced a former terminal station, is designed as a convenient through station with local and long-distance lines that have enhanced Vienna's international connectivity, particularly with Eastern Europe. The station, which also houses a major shopping mall, has catalysed development in the surrounding Favoriten district.
The New Danube on the left and the Danube River on the right, with the 21km Danube Island in the middle © Vienna
Green and public spaces
Vienna also shines in environmental stewardship. Green spaces define Austria's capital city, covering more than 50% of municipal lands, and "priority landscape areas" are protected by a zoning plan that maintains a green belt for wildlife and natural habitats. Residents are also encouraged to plant vegetation in their yards and on their roofs.
Beyond Vienna's cathedrals and museums, the woodlands that inspired Strauss' waltzes and Mozart's operas are also managed as integral elements of the city's heritage. Spanning more than 105,000 hectares, these forests provide spaces for education, recreation and sustainable agricultural activities such as vineyards and pastureland. Their cultural and natural significance has been recognised by UNESCO, which designated the Vienna Woods as a unique Biosphere Reserve in 2005.
The Danube River that flows through Vienna is also being tamed through a long-term plan to alleviate floods and create new public spaces. By carving a channel called the New Danube, the city has created a flood protection measure that doubles as a water sports venue during non-flood periods. The soil excavated for the New Danube, meanwhile, was used to create Danube Island, a new public park right in the city centre.
Environmental sustainability also headlines Sydney's vision to become a "Green, Global and Connected City", which is being realised through programmes such as the Greening Sydney Plan for comprehensive urban greening initiatives and the Cycle Strategy and Action Plan 2007–2017. The latter aims to make cycling a first choice transport option, alongside walking and public transit, through a citywide cycleway network.
Sydney aims to increase its urban canopy cover © Sydney
Meanwhile, the Greening Sydney Plan seeks to increase 50% of its urban canopy cover by 2030 by creating more tree-lined streets, acquiring land for parks and making greenery a requirement in new developments. Having more green spaces also contributes to better community relations and confidence, as seen in Redfern, a crime-ridden inner-city neighbourhood that turned around following an injection of public parks and playgrounds.
Over in Toronto, good urban design of common spaces is key towards attracting people and businesses back to the city centre. Downtown Toronto had suffered a decades-long hollowing out to suburban sprawl, but this trend is now reversing thanks to the creation of "complete communities" and "complete streets" that offers multiple transit options, walkability and a revitalised waterfront along scenic Lake Ontario.
Auckland, too, has capitalised on its waterfront, by transforming its old wharves and harbour quarters into residential and commercial zones with attractive public spaces where people can dine, play and savour the maritime landscape. This vision also takes into consideration the traditional cultural significance of Auckland's seafront, through support for Māori art and festivals, and strives to be a "blue-green waterfront" that enhances the marine ecosystems upon which many Aucklanders depend for their livelihood.
The revitalised Wynyard Quarter along Auckland's waterfront © Jonny Davis
Long-term planning and leadership
Auckland's concerted efforts to rejuvenate its waterfront and engage local communities were possible only as a result of a bold reshuffle in 2010 that merged seven city authorities and a regional authority into a "Super Council" led by Mayor Len Brown. This in turn made possible a long-term Auckland Plan to create "the most liveable city in the world" by 2040. Just three years has passed since its launch in 2012, but the Auckland Plan is a step in the right direction that shows how a city in a remote part of the world can develop in a sustainable and socially integrated manner.
Sydney, too, is thinking decades ahead with its Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision, which enjoys the strong support of the Lord Mayor Clover Moore and City Council, who have aligned their planning priorities with feedback from the ground. The vision has also paved the way for the most extensive community engagement exercise with stakeholders and residents in Sydney's planning history, an 18-month process that fostered understanding and cooperation between the government, private sector, civic groups and urban communities.
Over in Toronto, the goal of rejuvenating the city core stems from a long-term Central Area Plan that has been sustained by the city's leadership despite limited funding from the Federal and Provincial Governments. The city still faces a shortage of affordable housing and transit budget cutbacks, but has persisted in investments in public spaces and social integration that will yield visible returns over time.
Finally, Vienna's future to 2025 and beyond is being charted by a STEP 2025 Urban Development Plan with 13 Key Areas identified for focused developments across the entire city. Already recognised as one of the world's most liveable cities, Vienna has prevailed under the long-term leadership of Mayor Dr Michael Häupl, and along with the other Special Mention cities of 2016, is seeking to build a sustainable future through environmental leadership and common spaces that enhance the quality of life for its diverse communities. O

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Twenty five years ago, CASEL was an entirely volunteer group of educators and researchers committed to advancing social and emotional learning. With support from the Fetzer Institute and Surdna Foundation, the group met periodically to discuss new directions in the field of social and emotional learning and ways to build and strengthen CASEL as an organization. Many of the original members still work closely with CASEL and as leaders in the SEL field.
The identifications below refer to the professional involvements of members at the time when they met regularly.
Daniel Goleman, CASEL co-founder, author of Emotional Intelligence
Mark T. Greenberg, Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development, Penn State University
Eileen R. Growald, Venture Philanthropist
Linda Lantieri, Director, Inner Resilience Program
Timothy P. Shriver, Chair, Special Olympics
David J. Sluyter, Senior Advisor, Fetzer Institute
Sheldon Berman, Superintendent of Schools, Hudson, MA
Patricia Caesar, President and CEO, Caesar Consulting Group
Maurice Elias, Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University
Norris M. Haynes, Professor of Counseling and School Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University
Janice Jackson, Assistant Professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College
Beverly Benson Long, Immediate Past President, World Federation for Mental Health
JoAnn B. Manning, Vice President of Program Implementation, Platform Learning
Janet Patti, Professor, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Hunter College
Terry Pickeral, Executive Director, National Center for Learning and Citizenship, Education Commission of the States
Mary Utne O'Brien, Research Professor of Psychology and Education, University of Illinois at Chicago
Herbert J. Walberg, Professor Emeritus, Education and Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago
Roger P. Weissberg, Professor of Psychology and Education, University of Illinois at Chicago
Joseph E. Zins, Professor, College of Education, University of Cincinnati
Learn more about CASEL's history here and important milestones here.


ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Russia lost tens of billions of dollars in potential revenues from arms deals with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's fall, the official in charge of Russia's arms exports said on Wednesday.
Russia, the world's No. 2 arms exporter, has frequently cited losses of $4 billion in Libyan arms contracts.
"The figure of $4 billion is only nominal, the real lost revenue could top tens of billions of dollars," said Mikhail Dmitriyev, the head of Russia's Federal Service on Military and Technical Cooperation.
"There is no doubt there were losses... We have no contacts with the new Libyan leadership in the (defence) field any longer," he told reporters in the northern city of St Petersburg.
The Kremlin has been criticised by some diplomats for its ambiguous stance in the Libya crisis: failing to support the Western-backed revolt against Gaddafi, backing sanctions against him and allowing Western military action.
Such was the discord within the Russian elite over Libya that it provoked a rare public disagreement between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.
Russian companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas exploration there, and Russian Railways was building a railway under a 2.2 billion euro ($3 billion)contract.
Arms contracts signed under Gaddafi's rule made up 12 percent of Russia's 2010 arms exports, worth a total of $10 billion. An arms embargo imposed in February caused Russia to forfeit $4 billion in new contracts.
Moscow shipped Gaddafi the guns and rockets that were used in vain against rebel forces that came to form the interim ruling council. The council has consolidated its grip on the country after Gaddafi's capture and death late last month.
Russia supported an initial U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Gaddafi and his government, but abstained from a resolution in March that allowed military intervention.
The nation's oil firms had a variety of interests in Libya, ranging from a landmark asset swap deal between Italy's ENI and the oil arm of state gas company Gazprom to a crude supply relationship between Libya and a major Mediterranean refinery where LUKOIL is a shareholder.
Medvedev's envoy to Africa, Mikhail Margelov, said on Wednesday that Gazprom Neft and ENI have revived their joint venture in Libya and that he saw no reason for other major contracts to be reviewed.
"I see no reason for the Libyan authorities to review these contracts. They bring profits both to us and them. We are not going to lose any of oil and infrastructure projects, I am sure of that," he said.
But Gazprom Neft's CEO Alexander Dyukov told reporters last Friday that the deal, in which Gazprom was to take over the Elephant project in Libya as part of a swap for gas assets in Russia, was still subject to force majeure.


Ronald McDonald House provides a home away from home for regional WA families who need to travel to Perth for hospital treatment.
The new facilities will provide enough accommodation to house up to 180 people each night, and will be able to cater for over 1000 families each year.
Construction begun in February and should be completed by late 2015 to stand alongside the new $1.2 billion Perth Children's Hospital.
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4 Charts Explain Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Countries and Sectors
by World Resources Institute
Global annual greenhouse gas emissions have grown 41% since 1990, and they are still climbing. While emissions dipped notably in 2016, recent data suggests that carbon dioxide emissions rose each year since then.
Where are these emissions coming from, and who is responsible? WRI's ClimateWatch platform offers comprehensive emissions data for all countries, sectors and gases. Here's what we know about the sectors and countries driving greenhouse gas emissions globally:
The Energy Sector Produces the Most Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Energy consumption is by far the biggest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for a whopping 73% worldwide. The energy sector includes transportation, electricity and heat, buildings, manufacturing and construction, fugitive emissions and other fuel combustion.
The other top sectors that produce emissions are agriculture, such as livestock and crop cultivation(12%); land use, land-use change and forestry, such as deforestation (6.5%); industrial processes of chemicals, cement and more (5.6%); and waste, including landfills and waste water (3.2%).
Within the energy sector, generation of heat and electricity is responsible for most emissions (15 GtCO2e in 2016, or 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions), followed by transportation (7.9 GtCO2e in 2016, or 15% of total emissions) and manufacturing and construction (6.1 GtCO2e, or 12% of total emissions).
View a static version of this graphic here.
Buildings and Cars Are the Main Activities Driving Energy-related Emissions
The middle column of the chart above shows emissions by end-use activities, helping us understand the specific activities from which emissions stem. Activities driving most energy emissions include road transportation (11.9% of total emissions), residential buildings (10.9% of total emissions) and commercial buildings (6.6% of total emissions). Emissions from those activities include both direct emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, as well as indirect emissions such as use of electricity.
The "Other industry" covers a wide range of activities, including non-metallic metals, construction, mining and quarrying, textile and leather, wood and wood products, transportation equipment, and more. These activities collectively consume a large portion of fossil fuels and electricity, and thus produce a large share of emissions.
Industry and Transportation Are the Fastest-growing Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Since 1990, three sectors stand out as the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions: Industrial processes grew by 174%, transportation (a subsector of energy) by 71%, and manufacturing and construction (also a subsector of energy) by 55%. The growth in industrial emissions stems primarily from increased use of refrigeration and air conditioning, which produce hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases. Increased travel by automobiles is the predominant reason transportation emissions are on the rise.
Related Articles: Grasping for Air | How the Climate Changed
In comparison, emissions from the largest-emitting subsector within the energy sector, electricity and heat generation, increased 78% from 1990-2013, but then dropped by 2% between 2013-2016. The decrease was driven by various factors, including a shift to natural gas from coal and increased use of renewables. However, the latest carbon emissions data suggests that CO2 emissions from energy rose again in 2017 and 2018.
10 Countries Produce More Than 68% of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A small number of countries contribute the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions, with the top 10 emitters accounting for over two-thirds of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. Most of them also have large populations and economies, together accounting for over 50% of the global population and almost 60% of the world's GDP. China is the biggest emitter at 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, followed by the United States at 13%, the European Union at 7.8% and India at 6.7%.
Most of the top 10 emitters have higher emissions per person than the world average (around 6.8 tCO2e per person). Among the top 10 total greenhouse gas emitters, Canada and the United States have the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions at 22 tCO2e per person and 18 tCO2e per person, respectively, while India has the lowest at 2.4 tCO2e per person. China's per capita emissions (8.5 tCO2e) now surpass those of the European Union (7.1 tCO2e).
Countries such as Qatar and Australia, while not among the top 10 emitters, have higher per capita emissions than most top emitters at 34.8 tCO2e per person and 21.5 tCOe2 per person, respectively.
Carbon Dioxide Makes Up Most, but Not All, Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Carbon dioxide (CO2) comprises 74% of greenhouse gas emissions. Most CO2 emissions (89%) are from the use of fossil fuels, especially for generation of electricity and heat, transportation, and manufacturing and consumption. Land use, land-use change and forestry is another major contributor (7%) to human-made CO2 emissions, mostly due to deforestation.
Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) make up 17% and 6.2% of total greenhouse gas emissions, respectively, mostly from agriculture, waste treatment and gas flaring. Fluorinated gases (comprised of HFCs, PFCs, SF6 and NF3) from industrial processes make up 2% of global emissions. These gases are much more potent than CO2 in terms their global warming potential, and often provide overlooked opportunities for mitigation.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Must Be Reduced Rapidly to Avert the Climate Crisis
The world is already facing the consequences from climate change. If we are to avoid much more dangerous and costly impacts, current levels of greenhouse gas emissions must be slashed in half by 2030 and reach net-zero by mid-century. The largest emissions sources, like the energy sector, are good places to start. But to fully tackle the climate crisis, we will need deep reductions across all sectors, big and small. Switching to renewable energy, electrifying the transportation sector, introducing more sustainable agriculture practices, curbing deforestation and forest degradation, and producing less waste are a few key ways to drive greenhouse gas emissions downward and set the world on course for a safer future.
About the Authors: Mengpin Ge is an Associate with WRI's Global Climate Program, where she provides analytical and technical support for the Open Climate Network (OCN) and CAIT 2.0 projects. Johannes Friedrich is a Senior Associate within the Global Climate Program, leading WRI's climate data and innovation work.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Featured Photo: The Sherburne County (Sherco) Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant owned by Xcel Energy, in Becker, Minnesota — Featured Photo Credit: Tony Webster
carbon dioxide, CO2 emissions, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, World Resources Institute, WRI
About the Author / World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research organization that spans more than 60 countries, with international offices in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States, regional offices in Ethiopia (for Africa) and the Netherlands (for Europe), and program offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Our more than 1,000 experts and staff turn big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being.
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Exacerbated by COVID-19 and building on economic and climate challenges, a major debt crisis is brewing in


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Bold printed shorts, creatively patterned to grab all the attention is a must wear this summer. The pom-pom lace details are eye catching making it fun and modern to wear all day.Team this casual shorts with a white tank top and a pair of funky shoes. The firm elastic at waist provides good fit and comfort.


HOUSTON – Health Services Management Inc. (HSM) has paid the United States $5 million to resolve claims that the company billed the Medicare and Medicaid programs for worthless services and for services that were never provided, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. HSM is based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and owns and operates nursing homes throughout Texas and the United States. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only with no determination of liability.