Amina Maelainine: ‘Wearing the Hijab is Not a Religious Requirement’
Rabat – As she faces a barrage of criticism for failing to uphold her party’s “Islamic values,” Amina Maelainine refuses to succumb to critics.Hitting back at her “detractors” in a lengthy profile article published earlier today Moroccan weekly Al Ayyam, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) MP said that the Hijab is not an essential part of Islam.Maelainine rose to political prominence as an articulated and outspoken proponent of female modesty in accordance with what she saw as Islamic principles. Now, though, the PJD MP says she had been mistaken because she used to “disproportionately” consider physical appearance as central in experiencing one’s faith.“The veil is not an Islamic pillar,” Maelainine said, in reference to the five precepts, or “Islamic pillars,” that constitute the cornerstone of the Muslim faith.For an MP whose political speeches used to make effusive references to the virtues of devout female believers as she represented a party whose base is adamant on upholding the precepts of one’s faith in public life and government practices, Maelainine’s comments can come across as surprising.Aware of the implications of her statements, however, Maelainine sought to clarify. She said that some Islamic precepts are compulsory, whereas others stem from personal choices and are subject to circumstances.She elaborated, “Being naked does not have the same social significance in tropical Africa, the Middle East, or Latin America. These are relative questions that should not be approached through the lenses of an absolute.”At the heart of Maelainine logic is the desire to refrain from judging others’ lifestyles. She said that clothing reflects a “social contract” binding an individual to centuries of social conventions, the result of historical and cultural considerations.“I know some leading PJD members who are very open on the question of the Hijab. Their stances are indeed very liberal. But they can’t openly express their ideas because of party and social constraints.”Youthful militancyMaelainine evoked the context in which she took up the Hijab, referring to early high school years in which judgment is sometimes clouded by unquestioned allegiance to scriptures she did not fully grasp. She implied it is easy to espouse militant attitude toward faith when one knows very little.When she was in high school and decided to wear the hijab, she considered it as the “essence of religion.” In those early years, she explained, “We tended to accord disproportionate importance to the veil and clothes in general.”But many things have changed, Maelainine seemed to suggest. A philosophy graduate—and teacher— who had the chance to encounter classic texts on faith and community, the MP said she now knows that questions like physical appearance and clothing choices “are trivial.”The most pressing concern for an Islamist government or leader should be good policy making to solve societal issues, rather than judgmental attitudes on people’s life choices, according to Maelainine.She revealed that being bearded or refraining from greeting women were “essential considerations” for PJD male members in the party’s early years.Now, however, “one can hardly imagine a [PJD] minister giving importance to such trivialities, at the expense of solving his department’s problems.”More than ethical, religious considerations on what to wear and how not to behave in public, Maelainine also expressed her “liberal take” on the experience of faith.Faith, she said, should entirely be a personal matter. The country does not need custodians to dictate on people what they should believe. “I think that freedom of conscience should be guaranteed for everyone.”The Maelainine controversyFor all the conciliatory underpinning of Maelainine’s philosophy-inspired comments, her change from an ardent supporter of the hijab to a heartfelt proponent of hijab-free expression of faith and public decency has personal motivations.She herself is currently fighting with mounting criticism from within the lower and upper echelons of her own party.In early January, pictures of an unveiled Maelainine in Paris made the rounds on Moroccan social media. Critics—Moroccan liberals in great number—slammed both Maelainine and her party for thriving on “the credulity of the Moroccan electorate.”The idea was that the PJD capitalizes on “Islamic ethics as a political market,” with MPs that publically exhibit Islam-saturated public personae that clash with their personal lives. Critics said that the PJD’s “hypocritical” MPs use religion to only appeal to the country’s largely conservative populations.Maelainine first denied the authenticity of the pictures. She claimed the images were “fake and fabricated” and were only meant to defame her, ruin her political career. She even threatened to sue the authors of the “smear campaign.”Following more leakages, however, the MP acknowledged that the pictures were real. But she remained as unrepentant. She declared that her convictions as a political representative and fighter for “democracy, justice, and human rights” far outweigh her attire choices or her public appearance in general.Maelainine has since been at the heart of a party dispute. While some PJD members have voiced their support for the besieged MP, others, including party leader and head of government Saad Eddine El Othmani, have said that she had no right to take off her hijab while in Paris.Referring to that episode in her interview with Al Ayyam, Maelainine said she has “no regrets” over her recent choices. However, she explained, she was “pained” that her PJD “brothers and sisters” who should have come to her rescue chose to lambast her instead.“I cannot accept that my personality and political fights be reduced to my clothing choices,” she said.
A member of one of Britain’s most notorious crime families, who shot an associate he accused of being a “grass” in the chest in broad daylight, has avoided a trial for attempted murder.Patrick “Patsy” Adams instead pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after prosecutors said his victim, Paul Tiernan, was “seeking to derail” the case by refusing to cooperate with police.Adams’s wife Constance, who was with her husband when the shooting took place, walked free after a charge of attempted murder against her was also dropped. It read: “Pat, I ain’t no F***king grass.“G could have stopped all this bollocks by telling the truth.”The prosecutor said “G” is thought to refer to the Adams’s son George, whose home was searched in January 2014 and found to contain gunshot residue on a drawstring bag.The prosecution said the movement of Mrs Adams’s mobile phone following the attack was consistent with her visiting her son’s Islington home.Two women, whom the Crown say were the defendants’ daughters, Rea and Constance Junior, were seen on CCTV arriving and leaving the defendant’s flat on the day of the shooting.The prosecution said the significance of this was that “Rea, who had been wearing a short jacket is now wearing a longer coat”.“Whether that is the coat Constance Adams was wearing remains to be seen, but she was also pulling a suitcase,” said Mr Aylett.Patrick and Constance Adams later fled to The Netherlands but were extradited back to the UK last October.Constance was discharged from custody but her husband, who has a string of convictions dating back to when he was 12, was remanded ahead of sentencing.A charge of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life against him was left to lie on file. The fact of an open window in December points to the victim having seen Mr and Mrs Adams approaching him and having opened his window in order to speak to them.“Shortly before the shooting Patrick Adams was accusing Tiernan of being a grass.”The court heard witnesses heard a “loud boom” before Tiernan was seen bent double “groaning in pain”.After the attack detectives discovered a hand-written note believed to be from the victim, at the Adams’s flat nearby in Percival Street, Clerkenwell. His sentence for the lesser offence, however, could be less than half that duration.The defendant, who is the younger brother of Terry Adams, the former head of the Clerkenwell “Adams family” crime syndicate, was caught on camera reaching towards his “distinctive duster coat” moments before a shot was heard.Prosecutors said Adams had been feuding with his associate before shooting him once in the chest as he sat at the wheel of his BMW in Finsbury, North London, in December 22 2013.Tiernan may have been lulled into a false sense of security by the presence of Constance Adams, 56, the court was told.Lead counsel Crispin Aylett QC said: “The prosecution suggest from the circumstances of the shooting in broad daylight and at close range that what happened would seem to be personal 
Terry Adams, Patrick’s older brother, outside the High Court in 2014Credit:Telegraph Shortly before the shooting Patrick Adams was accusing Tiernan of being a grassCrispin Aylett QC, prosecution barrister Tiernan, 54, had previously told police he would not talk for fear of incriminating himself.But yesterday Woolwich Crown Court heard he lived under a “code in which loyalty is everything” and “snitching or grassing is contemptible”.Without his evidence, and in the absence of an eye-witness, prosecutors would have had to rely on CCTV of Adams, who claimed the gun was Tiernan’s, moving to and from the scene.Pleading guilty to the lesser charge of GBH with intent means he potentially faces a far lighter sentence.Both offences carry a maximum term of life in prison, although in reality Adams may have faced seven to 15 years behind bars had he been convicted of attempted murder. Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings.
Last month, Bethesda and id Software delivered five minutes of action-packed gameplay from the upcoming FPS Rage in a trailer called The Shrouded. Back then, they teased an upcoming trailed, called The Well, which has finally landed. The Well delivers 8 gorgeous minutes of character interactions, detailed maps, a dusty post-apocalyptic world, and most importantly, guns-blazing shootout action.If you weren’t excited about Rage before, The Well will get you interested. Built under the guidance of game developing legend John Carmack, Rage is an FPS with driving elements that have more than a few people excited. The game takes place on a post-apocalytpic Earth, years after a devastating asteroid impact.In The Well, we start out in the town of Wellspring, and learn that the citizens of Wellspring have been plagued by bandits who threaten to poison the town’s water supply. You take on the job of infiltrating the ransacked well where the bandits are hiding out, cleaning them out, and making sure the bandits don’t contaminate the water.We start the trailer in-town, talking to some of the locals and learning about the threat the citizens face. You get a feeling for the character interactions here, as well as the detail in the world, on the buildings, in the backgrounds, and even on the character’s faces and clothes.Eventually, we make our way to the well and sneak inside to tray and catch the bandits by surprise. Take out a few quietly, and eventually the rest realize you’re there. Now that you’ve infiltrated the well, you have to use all of the weapons in your arsenal to take down the bandits and save Wellspring.Rage is gorgeous, and the trailer proves it. The game is gritty without being murky, realistic without being over-the-top, and the environments look great. If the game plays as smoothly as the trailers indicate, it’ll definitely be a must-buy FPS when it’s released in September. If you want to get in on the action sooner, you can pre-order your copy for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and iOS (yes, there’ll be an iPad and iPhone version) now.
According to rumor, Google will be launching its answer to Dropbox within the next few weeks, and the new service could have a lot more to offer than a higher storage limit. Unlike stand-alone cloud storage solutions, Google Drive will almost certainly get plugged into Google’s existing ecosystem — a major selling point against more established competition. The company’s portfolio of webapps and their mobile/computer platforms all stand to benefit from having access to a central repository for user data.Here are a few of the possibilities of what Drive could mean for Google’s top products and services.Google DocsFolding Drive into Google’s online document suite is a no-brainer — users would retain all the collaboration and sharing tools available in Docs, but get easy access to their documents through Microsoft Office and other full-featured applications, even when offline. It wouldn’t be the first time Google has attempted to resolve the online-only limitation of Docs, but Drive might make for a cleaner, more robust method than the Office Cloud Connector or the Chrome-only, view-only Offline Google Docs. References to Google Drive have already been discovered in the Google Docs developer tools, so it’s likely this will be one of the first uses of the new service.GmailWhy does email need cloud storage? Attachments. Currently, you can find attached files in Gmail by using the advanced search “has attachment” option — an effective solution, but a bit cumbersome. With a “connect to Gmail” option, Google Drive could automatically pull out those old attachments into a dedicated folder, giving users access to them without having to manually hunt down and redownload them.Google could also use Drive to revolutionize the way Gmail attachments are handled in the first place. Ask any IT support professional and they’ll tell you that attachments can be a big headache. File size restrictions often cause email servers to reject messages or strip large attachments, and even small ones take up a lot of space if the email is sent to multiple recipients. Cloud storage fans have long had a way around those issues: toss the file into Dropbox, copy the private share link, and paste that into the body of a message. With Drive, Google could automate that entire process without losing the “attachment” metaphor. When Gmail users add an attachment, Google could simply place the file into a special Drive folder, then add a link to it in the body of the email. The message would be less likely to get hung up by server restrictions, and the file could go to dozens of addresses while being stored in only one place.Google Play MusicUnlike the other sections of Google’s online media store, the music section includes a simple download option, which lets customers get their tracks and albums out of their digital locker. Once downloaded, there would be nothing to stop users from backing up that content to their Google Drive, so it seems logical that the service might just do it for them at the time of purchase. Assuming that Google Drive keeps the files up to date across multiple devices, that kind of integration could negate the need for the somewhat-clumsy Music Manager application Google Play currently uses.Android and Chrome OSGoogle’s made a few attempts to connect their desktop and mobile products, most notably the “Chrome to Phone” extension that sends web pages, directions, and other content to a linked handset. Google Drive could be another bridge between those two platforms, especially if the company includes a “send to” option on the desktop side. In much the same way apps can be purchased from the Android web store and sent immediately to an Android phone or tablet, Google Drive could let users push files to their mobile devices.Drive is also a natural fit for Google’s Chrome OS laptops, which ship with a mere 16GB of local storage. Drive will almost certainly have a web interface that Chromebooks could connect to, but hopefully Google will reach beyond that. With a new, more desktop-like interface rolling out for the OS, it might be possible for the company to create a Drive sync plugin that works more like Dropbox, and doesn’t require manual uploading and downloading.Final ThoughtsIntegration with the existing Google products is almost certainly a priority for Google Drive, but the question is how that integration will work with the 5GB storage limit (or 2GB, depending on which leaked screenshot proves accurate). Ideally, Drive would simply act as an alternative way to access your data in Google’s other services, so all your existing documents/attachments/music wouldn’t count against the cap. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how one of the most cloud-focused companies around folds such a basic cloud service into what they do.
Facebook Twitter: @NeosKosmos Instagram Shrinking economic activity in Greece continues to have negative consequences on employment, which will continue to decrease throughout 2011, a European Commission report on employment outlook in the European Union stated on Tuesday. The report said that lower employment opportunities in the private sector, combined with a freeze in hirings and reducing contract-workers in the public sector were expected to push the unemployment rate above 15 per cent of the workforce in 2012. The Commission stressed that a negative situation in the labour market combined with a continuing reduction of wages were expected to burden available income in the medium-term, reducing real demand in the country. The EU’s executive noted that continuing tax uncertainties could further shrink private consumption in the country. The Commission, in its report citing Hellenic Statistical Authority data, said employment fell 5.4 per cent in March 2011 compared with the same month in 2010, with the number of unemployed people totalling 811,000. Employment fell 7.7 per cent in the first quarter in the primary sector, by 13.8 per cent in the secondary sector and by 2.2 per cent in the third sector. The Commission forecasts that the economy will shrink by 3.5 per cent this year, while a recovery was expected to return “by the last quarters of the year or later and will be more visible after 2012”. Source: Athens News
A task force of Culture Ministry officials and police officers who received specialized training for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games are discussing ways to boost security at Greece’s museums and archaeological sites following two high-profile heists in as many months, Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos told a parliamentary committee yesterday. “Police units have been mobilized around the country to immediately increase the protection of museums and archaeological sites, and readiness levels have been increased,” Geroulanos told the Committee for Educational Affairs. Among the measures being explored are providing special training to security guards at museums and sites by police experts, improving electronic security and issuing a manual of standardized security procedures for all museums and sites. Geroulanos in February had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Lucas Papademos – who rejected it – following the robbery on February 17 of dozens of antiquities from a museum in Ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. News of the heist made its way around the world, putting Greece’s ability to protect its cultural heritage into question as the government continues to curb public spending and reduce staff numbers at the country’s archaeological sites and museums. The two armed and hooded perpetrators of the Olympia robbery overpowered the 48-year-old female guard as she was starting her shift and had deactivated the alarm in the early hours of the day. The thieves tied her up and smashed display cases, removing 65 artifacts, most dating from the 9th-4th century BC. “What happened at Olympia was a very serious blow,” Geroulanos said. “We never want to see anything like it happen again. But we have to operate as though this kind of thing is being planned all the time,” he added. Earlier in the year, on January 9, an unknown number of thieves broke into the National Gallery in Athens and stole a painting by Pablo Picasso that had been donated to the country’s largest state museum by the artist himself, as well as an oil painting by Piet Mondrian and a drawing by Guglielmo Caccia. The perpetrators of both the robbery at Ancient Olympia and at the National Gallery remain at large. Source: Kathimerini Facebook Twitter: @NeosKosmos Instagram
Central City has three speedsters now, and a good thing too. With Savitar somehow reappearing at the end of last week’s episode, The Flash, Kid Flash, and Jesse Quick are training extra hard. Jesse’s presence on Earth-1 is also doing wonders for Wally’s speed. He wants to impress his girlfriend after all. He even manages to reach The Flash and Jesse in just over two seconds, meaning he’s fast enough to save Iris from Savitar.Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, there’s even further cause for celebration as Barry and Iris announce their engagement to everyone. (Come on, did you really think she was going to say “no” last week?) Everyone is overjoyed, except for Joe. He’s a little peeved that Barry didn’t ask his permission before proposing. Who knew Joe West was so old fashioned? Before they can work that out, Barry and Wally are called away to deal with a fire. On the way, Wally has another vision of Savitar. It turns out; last week wasn’t Savitar’s actual return, it was a vision. Those have been happening to Wally for a week.Now we get to the most frustrating part of the episode, which is to say most of it. Everyone keeps things from each other, refuses to work together and screws basically everything up. Barry doesn’t react well to this because of course, he doesn’t. It’s a wonder he continues to have friends considering how he treats them sometimes. He excludes Wally from the team, thinking that Savitar could be spying on them through Wally. He also decides to use Julian to try and find out about Savitar’s plans. Dude just got back into the country, and Barry’s already asking him to open old wounds. They don’t learn much, but Savitar speaking through Julian is legitimately terrifying.Tom Felton as Julian Albert (Photo via CW)What they do learn is that they may not have gotten rid of the Philosopher’s Stone entirely. Yes, Barry threw it into the Speedforce, but there may be one piece remaining on Earth. And hey, the team doesn’t have to look too far to find it. It turns out that Caitlin has been keeping a piece without telling anyone, hoping that Julian could use it to help her get rid of her ice powers. Julian understandably feels betrayed, thinking she only asked him to join the team so he could help her.Team Flash isn’t quite done being big ol’ jerks to each other just yet. Wally, having trouble matching is speed from earlier, is convinced that if he could see the future Barry saw, that would motivate him to run faster. He and H.R. convince Cisco to vibe him into the future. He watches Iris die but notices that she isn’t wearing her engagement ring. He returns to the present with absolutely no chill and tells everyone that Barry only proposed to try to change the future. Iris, after taking some time to think, decides that while she loves Barry, she has to call off the engagement, so she won’t always be someone he has to save.The episode starts to pick back up when Wally is at home being comforted by Jesse, and his mom appears on the stairs. Of course, we all know that isn’t his mom. He eventually figures that out too. Her eyes start glowing, her voice deepens, and she reveals herself to be Savitar in the episodes most genuinely unsettling sequence. Meanwhile, Barry has figured out that Savitar is in the Speedforce. That’s how he’s been appearing to Wally all over the city. And, since the Philosopher’s Stone is in the Speedforce, he has most of it and just needs the final piece. Unfortunately, since Wally was excluded from all this, he doesn’t know that. He thinks he can stop Savitar by throwing the remaining piece of the stone into the Speedforce. Way to go, Barry.Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow. (Photo via CW)Barry is eventually able to track Wally down, but not before he throws the stone into the Speedforce. You’d think Savitar’s constant egging on would tip Wally off that something wasn’t right, but you know, teenagers. Now that Savitar has the full stone, he comes out of the portal as Wally is pulled in. Barry just stands there and watches this happen for reasons that are never entirely explained. Was he paralyzed with fear? Anger? What? Wally’s disappearance into the Speedforce makes Barry angry enough to fight Savitar. He does a pretty good job too. The episode builds to a fun climax with an exciting speedster fight. In the end, Barry gains the upper hand and threatens to unmask Savitar. Before he can, Savitar stabs him in the shoulder and escapes.The episode ends with everyone crying over losing Wally and Iris walking away from Barry. It’s an emotional scene that reminds you how great this cast is. Even after a truly frustrating episode, their grief at the end is real and painful. This show can be really effective when it wants to be.Even though all the secrets and reveals led to some great character moments, it’s frustrating watching Barry learn the same lesson over and over again. Maybe this is all going somewhere, but really? How many times has this team kept secrets from each other only to have them immediately blow up in their faces? It’s getting ridiculous at this point. Thankfully, this episode managed to end on a high note with a great speedster fight and one of the most emotional scenes the show has ever had. It’s unusual for the show to end with that kind of energy and it’ll be interesting to see where it takes the story next week. Stay on target Top Movies and TV Panels to Keep on Your Radar for SDCC 2019’The Flash’ Season 5 Finale Recap: 2 Big Bads and 1 Pre-Crisis 
News that the Trump administration barred the Environmental Protection Agency from awarding new contracts or grants created many questions and few answers for local agencies Tuesday.The confusion was exacerbated by a media blackout that froze all communication from the agency in the aftermath of the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Asked by nonprofit news agency ProPublica on Monday, EPA officials did not answer questions about possible implications of the freeze.At Washington State University Vancouver, Christine Portfors, associate vice chancellor of research and graduate education, was herself trying to answer that question Tuesday afternoon. Portfors said she combed email exchanges between researchers and professors, and said it appears the university’s current pending grant proposals won’t be “reviewed, let alone funded.”But, she said, it’s unclear what exactly is going on at the EPA.“There’s a lot of confusion,” Portfors said. “It’s hard to get some straight answers.”Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, co-director of the Aquatic Ecology Lab at WSU Vancouver, recently submitted a $760,000 grant proposal to the EPA to study cyanobacteria blooms, or blue-green algae like the kind that plague Vancouver Lake every summer.If the college received the grant, it would have brought researchers of a variety of disciplines from across Washington together to study algal blooms and their relationship with surrounding bodies of water.
Manchester United have announced that former youth coach Eric Harrison passed away peacefully on Wednesday night.The 81-year-old joined United as a youth coach in 1981 from Everton and famously oversaw the Class of ’92 team that consisted of the likes of David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs.Harrison also worked under another United legend in Mark Hughes as an assistant manager at Wales for four years and won an MBE for his services to football last year.Since 2014, however, Harrison had been living in a nursing home after being diagnosed with mixed dementia and died on Wednesday.“We are extremely saddened to report that our former youth coach Eric Harrison passed away last night,” read a statement on United’s Twitter.“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Eric’s family and friends at this sad and difficult time.”Also paying tribute was the legendary United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who praised Harrison’s contribution to football and labelled him one of the “greatest coaches of our time.”“Eric’s contribution to football and not just at Manchester United was incredible,” said Ferguson.“When I came as manager I was lucky enough to have Eric on the staff as head of youth development, so I got to see the work he did and not just with the Class of ’92 but with all the young players.“He built character and determination in those young players and prepared them for the future. He was a teacher, he gave these players a path, a choice and he only did that through his own hard work and sacrifice.“He was able to impart that education to the young which made him one of the greatest coaches of our time.”Former United midfielder Beckham wrote on Instagram: “We’ve lost our mentor, our coach and the man who made us.“He taught us how to play, how to never give up, how important it was to win your individual battles and what we needed to do to play for Manchester United Football Club.“He was always watching and always with us every time we played, I can still hear him telling me NO MORE HOLLYWOOD PASSES.“I can still see him as we played on The Cliff training ground looking down on us either with a proud smile or a loud bang of his fist on the window knowing any minute he would be on his way down to probably advise me in the most polite way to stop playing those passes.“More importantly he made us understand how to work hard and respect each other and not just on the pitch. We won’t forget the life lessons he gave us.“Eric we love you and owe you everything. Gary, Phil, Ryan, Paul, Nicky and David.”
Liverpool legend Nicol slams Harry Maguire’s Man United form Andrew Smyth – September 14, 2019 Steve Nicol believes Harry Maguire has made some “horrendous mistakes” recently, and has failed to find his best form since joining Manchester United.Below are some of the tributes that have been coming in today from other United greats.Eric Harrison, one of footballs greatest people has sadly passed away. Responsible for the development of The Class of 92 and so many other great players that came through the @ManUtd academy he was one of the clubs biggest heroes. RIP Eric pic.twitter.com/gainlxov5u— Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) February 14, 2019We’ve lost our mentor , our coach and the man who made us. He taught us how to play , how to never give up , how important it was to win your individual battles and what we needed to do to play for Manchester United Football Club. Eric we owe you everything ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iv0uisTGCl— Gary Neville (@GNev2) February 14, 2019Such sad news to hear of Eric Harrison’s passing- Eric was a massive part of my education,not only in football but life in general-hard work, desire ,commitment and respect. He built character and determination in all of us , he was a great coach and a great man ❤️ I’ll never— Robbie Savage (@RobbieSavage8) February 14, 2019Forget the letter he wrote to me after my release from United , a letter I have to this day , saying that he believed in me and dont give up , Eric along with my family was the reason I didn’t and to this day I will always be so thankful to Eric ❤️— Robbie Savage (@RobbieSavage8) February 14, 2019So sad.Thoughts are with Eric’s friends and family.I’ve heard so many stories over the years about the influence Eric had on the lads coming through the youth team. Schooling and developing them into some of the worlds best players.Such an integral part of the club.RIP🙏🏻 https://t.co/gsXhCmDv2l— Michael Carrick (@carras16) February 14, 2019
Nirmal: Everyone should plant saplings with commitment in Haritha Haram project and protect them with responsibility, said Minister for Forests, Environment, Endowments and Housing Allola Indrakaran Reddy.He was the chief guest at a training programne on Haritha Haram at Gandi Ramanna Haritha Vanam (nursery) on the outskirts of Chincholi (B) village under Sarangapur mandal in Nirmal district on Friday. Also Read – Vemulawada school seized after road accident Advertise With Us addressing the participants, Minister Reddy said human life is dependent on trees and everyone should plant saplings to provide healthy environment for te future generations. Panchayat Raj Act was introduced to provide awareness among the rural people to increase greenery in villages. Not only plantation but also conservation is the responsibility of the officials and they should work with commitment to turn the villages into green, he said. Also Read – Non-bailable warrant to Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury Advertise With Us In cities like Bengaluru, the officials will give permission for house construction only if the owners agree to raise plants, Reddy stated. He wanted to arrange tree guards to protect the saplings. Gandi Ramanna park is spread over 178 acres and of this, park will be developed in 300 acres, with an estimation cost of Rs 1 crore. Zilla Parishad chairperson Karepelli Vijaya Lakshmi, Nirmal MPP Rameshwar Reddy, Library Chairman E Rajendar, FACS chairperson Ramkishan Reddy, R&B superintendent Engineer Nazeer Ahamed, DRDO Venkateshwarlu, Zilla Parishad CEO Sudheer, forest officer Prasad and others were present.
Stay on target Star Wars junkies, listen up: Luke Skywalker’s “original” lightsaber is about to hit the auction block, and it could be yours for only $200,000.Profiles in History, a California- based auction house, announced in a press release that the “original” memorabilia item will be auctioned next week from December 11 to December 13 in Los Angeles.The lightsaber, which allegedly is from the Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope film, is predicted to sell for $150,000 to $200,000, according to auctioneers. It joins other valuable Star Wars items, including a pair of C-3PO hands that’s expected to fetch up to $60,000 and an Imperial Scout Trooper helmet slated to sell for $100,000 to $150,000. AdChoices广告Mark Hamill in ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’ (Photo Credit: Profiles in History)However, Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke Skywalker in the movie, warned Star Wars junkies about the auction’s items. On Tuesday, Hamill issued a word of caution on Twitter, and wrote, “Be Advised – There was no ONE lightsaber I used in the films, but many, MANY, both for myself [and] my stunt-double.” He concluded the post with the hashtag, #BuyerBeware.Be Advised-There was no ONE lightsaber I used in the films, but many, MANY, both for myself & my stunt-double. Multiple duplicate back-up props are commonplace during production-When the handle ridges were cutting my hands, they even made a few w/ soft sponge ridges! #BuyerBeware https://t.co/C6Tv4TGIPy— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 4, 2018Regardless, it will be interesting to see which Star Wars enthusiast will be lucky enough to own one of these rare memorabilia items next week.More on Geek.com:Luke Sky Walker Arrest Prompts Hilarious Response from Mark HamillColumbia Sportswear Unveils Cozy Star Wars Jacket for Super FansDisney Unveils New ‘Star Wars’ Animated YouTube Shorts Elon Musk’s Cheeky ‘Nuke Mars!’ Post Is Taking Over TwitterA ‘Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’-Themed Cookbook Is Coming This Fall 
Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico City’s Central de Abasto has been recognized as a tourist destination of excellence after being awarded during the international tourism fair in Spain.The massive public market, which covers approximately 328 hectares, was given the Excelencias Turísticas Award for Mexico and Latin America as a new tourist destination.The head of government, Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa, said that Central de Abasto (Ceda) won the award after being selected by a jury composed of nine judges from different countries that specialize in public markets as well as in art and gastronomy.The general manager of Ceda, Sergio Palacios Trejo, said that this for the past year they have worked through a strategy to show the market’s traditional appeal while adding new elements such as the installation of murals and an increase in guided tours.He added that the number of tourists has increased over the past year, making it a new destination as the largest market of its kind in the world.The proximity to the International Airport of Mexico City, as well as its road connectivity, make it an attraction for tourists, and with the increase of visitors from different segments, market organizers plan to install a line of tourist buses that will attract national and international visitors.On a cultural level the market has Central de Muros where 30 international artists painted the Ceda façade, taking up the graphic vocation of the beginning of the last century.The market, which is located in the eastern borough of Iztapalapa and attracts more than 500,000 people a day, is the most important commercial establishment in Mexico and the largest of its kind in the world. The market handles over 30,000 tons of merchandise daily, representing 80 percent of the consumption of the Mexico City metropolitan area.Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon resigned on Tuesday night, and will step down from day to day leadership of the airline on 25 September 2019.Chairman Tony Carter says Mr Luxon has made an outstanding contribution to the airline, which has experienced a period of enhanced profitability, strong dividends to shareholders, record customer satisfaction scores, outstanding brand health and the best corporate reputation in New Zealand and Australia during his seven year tenure. “It was on this day seven years ago that Christopher’s appointment to the role of Chief Executive Officer of Air New Zealand was announced,” Mr Carter says.“The opportunity to lead New Zealand’s most iconic company will attract many great candidates both internationally and within New Zealand. The Board has commenced an international search and expects to be in a position to announce the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer in the near future.“Further, Christopher will be in the role until 25 September, and then he will move to advising and supporting the incoming Chairman and new CEO so we have a seamless transition and are set up well for further success.”Mr Luxon says he is incredibly proud of what Air New Zealand has achieved under his tenure.“Our customer centricity, commercial focus, and highly engaged culture have made Air New Zealand the most revered company in our part of the world as reflected in our corporate reputation rankings on both sides of the Tasman.”Mr Luxon says he will miss heading to work every day to lead the aviation equivalent of 12,500 All Blacks. “It has been an awesome journey and what we have achieved by working together with a common goal of supercharging New Zealand’s success economically, environmentally and socially has been nothing short of remarkable.“I have absolutely loved the responsibility and experience of leading this company over the last seven years. It has been intellectually challenging, people centred and an absolute privilege to do this job. However, I do feel it is the right time for a new leader to take over and preserve and enhance the good things from our past, but also to put their own stamp on the organisation bringing their own personality and emphasis to the role as I did.”He says the culture at Air New Zealand is unlike any other company and it has only strengthened as the airline introduced performance management and leadership development programmes, pioneered High Performance Engagement (HPE) with its union partners, chose to pay a Company Performance Bonus, improved its safety record and lifted its commitment to diversity and inclusion. “All of this has seen Air New Zealand regularly voted as the best place to work in the country. I will miss the friendship and support of all those with whom I have worked with and served.“I know I am going to get a lot of questions about where to next for me, so I am keen to be quite upfront about that. Obviously, job number one is to stay focused and finish strongly at Air New Zealand so we are set up for more success going forward. Then I’m going to take the summertime to refresh and recharge, and then reflect on what I will do next.“I am now 48 years old and my wife Amanda and I are at an interesting time in life. Our children will both have finished high school and so we will have a new degree of freedom, including career choices. Thus, I would like to think more about how I can best use my skills, abilities and experience to make a further contribution to the success of New Zealand whether that be through corporate life, politics or a not for profit.” Air New Zealandairlines
– / 10 Grace expects Greinke trade to have emotional impact The veteran was inactive for both of New England’s playoff games and he was cut in March.Sopoaga is glad to have landed with his fourth NFL team.“First, I’d like to give thanks to our graciously heavenly father for this wonderful opportunity,” he said following Wednesday’s practice. “I’m so thankful for the Arizona Cardinals — it’s fun to be out here.”Coming into training camp four weeks in can be daunting for anyone, but Sopoaga has a plan in place to learn what he needs to know.“I’ll pick it up one day at a time and there are guys that have been here that I trust and they’ve been working hard from the beginning of preseason,” he said. “We are all professionals. Even though they’re young, they’re pros.”While training camp has been going on, Sopoaga has been working out at his home in San Jose, Calif., hoping for the phone to ring.“I’ve been training over there the same way the teams have been training,” he said. That training paid off as the ink was barely dry on Sopoaga’s contract before he was in 11-on-11 action in practice, even participating in a couple of snaps with the first team defense. GLENDALE, Ariz. — Less than 48 hours after defensive tackle Darnell Dockett went down with a season-ending ACL tear, the Arizona Cardinals brought in reinforcements.The team signed veterans Isaac Sopoaga and Ryan McBean to one-year contracts. Both players worked out for coaches prior to Wednesday’s practice at University of Phoenix Stadium and both were in uniform for the afternoon session.Sopoaga, 32, signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in March of 2013, with $5 million guaranteed. In October, after Sopoaga had registered 10 total tackles in eight games with Philly, he was dealt to New England along with a sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft in exchange for a fifth-round selection. In six games with the Patriots, he had two tackles and a sack. Former Cardinals kicker Phil Dawson retires Comments Share The 5: Takeaways from the Coyotes’ introduction of Alex Meruelo Derrick Hall satisfied with D-backs’ buying and selling Top Stories 