Arghand Cooperative
Washing Away the Opium Trade
Think of farming in Afghanistan and you probably think of one crop: opium poppy. More than 90% of the world's opium supply comes from this tiny war-torn nation. Competing with the opium industry isn't easy, but Sarah Chayes is encouraging farmers in southern Afghanistan to plant crops like apricots, pomegranates, and almonds instead. These legendary fruits of the Kandahar region are used to produce all natural skincare products through a cooperative called Arghand. Arghand was started by Sarah, a former National Public Radio reporter, in 2005. Its signature soap pebbles are crafted using age-old techniques. Each one takes six weeks to make. The result is a dense and long-lasting soap that resembles a beautiful stone polished by river water. In the years since Sarah started Arghand, conditions in Afghanistan have remained unimaginably challenging. There had been talk of folding, but instead of giving up, Arghand is expanding, launching new skincare products to complement its soap pebbles. The new products include Desert Fields Body Lotion and Hydrating Antioxidant Face Cream, both of which blend wild pistachio oil with cold-pressed pomegranate seed oil and the distinctive perfume of Artemisia persica. There's also Essence of Rose Face Cream, which is made by drenching fresh rose petals in sweet almond oil, and Anisette Lip Balm, which combines anise oil with almond, apricot and pomegranate oils. Arghand means "triumphant" in Persian  -  and the cooperative's survival in such a perilous place is truly a triumph. It's an inspiration to supporters near and far, including Connie Moralez, whose husband, Staff Sergeant Christopher Neal Piper, died from injuries sustained in Afghanistan in 2005. "I live every day trying to do something to make things better somehow in Afghanistan," Connie says. "I buy small quantities of soap to give to people I think would be interested in helping to make Afghanistan a better place to live."
Soap Pebbles
I'm delighted to be back at the Daily Grommet to present Arghand's new line of face creams, body lotion and balms - Arghand Essentials. The road we have traveled to bring these products to market has been almost laughably marked with pot holes, which makes their debut all the more satisfying. By using Arghand Essentials you will not only enrich the lives of a select group of Afghans who have chosen blossoms over bullets; you will enrich your skin with the naturally soothing and restorative fruits, nuts and botanicals of the Kandahar region.
This is wonderful Jennie! I will help spead the word about these beautiful soaps and such a worthy mission! Bravo!
Jules - Grommet Team
@Jennifer Thanks for the offer to help spread the word. That means a lot to me. Supporting this is a way the Daily Grommet community can really help people in a place that so badly needs us. Bravo for Sarah and Jennie for giving us a lovely way to do it!
Just bought two -- one for our guest bath and one for a house gift. This is one of my favorite grommets. Such a worthy cause!
This one is going fast. If you saw a "greyed out" Buy It Now button, it meant we were temporarily sold out. We just arranged for some more so we are back in stock.
Those are gorgeous! My wife would love them.
I bought these for my wife and she was blown away! ( I was too, honestly) We are hooked- the soap, the story, the whole thing is just great- now we are giving them as gifts!
we got ours at a great on line shop-
Jennie - Special Guest
This is all very exciting and meaningful for us. Unfortunately, it is evening in Kandahar and our offfice is closed for the day. Otherwise I would try to get Mahmooda, Nurallah and some of our other Afghan members to log on. However, I will send them an email with the link and maybe they can pop in tomorrow. Circumstances are very precarious in Afghanistan right now, particularly in the south, and so we REALLY appreciate your support.
Dear Jennie, It would be an honor to purchase these soaps and to spread the word about your undertaking. It is difficult to imagine what you all are going through in Afghanistan. Sending positive energy, prayers and support!
Wonderful feedback! I also wanted to say that all proceeds from soap sales go directly back into the cooperative to cover salaries for our 13 Afghan members plus the facility, raw materials and day-to-day operations. Our few western salaries, administrative costs and capital investments are covered mostly by individual donations and public and private grants. If you have any questions about Arghand, please don't hesitate to let me know!
@Jennie, I'm happy you pointed out that the cooperative members get a fair salary from the soap sales, and all the revenues fund local operations. We had to cut that from the video and I missed it.
Marie Danielle
It's absolutely great to have such a site at hand. It brought tears to my eyes to watch the people of the coop at work: a meditative state, repeated gestures, long hours, patience and determination. I keep in mind everyone of them: the women sitting in circle sorting the almond shells, one by one, by hand, the man carefully tying a bow with a piece of Herat silk around an almond soap, the roll of thread standing by his side that he's going to use to attach the label to the soap, and his partner rapping each cherished piece of art in local newspaper. I was moved by the UNFORGETTABLE image of a man sitting meditatively in a chair - molded to his body with the hours of work - tapping endlessly to harden and shape the soap or to extract the palm oil. Now we know why these soaps are so long lasting and why they keep their hard shape 'till the end. Such quality of work for such a good and worthy cause sets the standards high to us, as it is an everyday example of humility, team work in a real family spirit where everyone is equal, and a lesson of great courage and tenacity for a better world in an environment of terror and war. I would like to salute everyone of them and tell them that it gives us joy and great pride to buy and promote such unique products for health, skin care and to support this unmatchable local fare trade coop! May you be blessed, all of you who wake up every day for Arghand's vision and know that here, we, like wise, wake up every morning with you, thinking and working as a team to help you reach your goal. Distance here is not an obstacle when the link is the heart and the vision is brotherhood.
@Marie Danielle Your thoughtful and heartfelt observations--and encouragement--take my breath away....this is work that is worth doing. It transcends work, when people like you help us all do our bit--to connect people with products and experiences and causes that carry deeper meaning. The Arghand Cooperative is this through and through.
Suzanne Hamlin
As a very fortunate Arghand soap consumer, I'd like to add some secular commentary: these gorgeous orbs of soap, which look like precious minerals or polished river stones, are soul soaps-infused with the strength of their creators and--on a very pragmatic level--magical, deeply nourishing cosmetic properties.
Arghand: a gift to the world in every way.
Thanks for spotlighting this company. I watched a very insightful interview with Sarah Chayes last year (see link below) and am very supportive of her work.
Peter Kenny
What a remarkable way of integrating meaning into our daily process of living - soap. Soap that speaks to a struggle and to resilience. This impresses me - I love everything about it - right down to the way it is packaged. Brilliant.
Katherine - Grommet Team
@Peter, I find this to be one of the most compelling Grommet stories we've done. They've had a tough go of it and a few months ago updated us. You can read the update here:

It's not an easy read.
We have more stories like this one, they all live in the "Social Enterprise" category of our site, you can see them here:
Social Enterprise Grommets
Sarah Chayes wrote a book on Afghanistan, and established the cooperative Arghand. Visit her website:  This is the work of an enlightened brave individual, who is supported by wonderful local people.
They deserve their victory over the not so progressive rest of the Afghan nation.
@Steve - thank you for that link!
Connie Moralez-Piper
I just LOVE this soap and think that Sarah Chayes is incredible. She is at the top of my hero list along with my Husband and Greg Mortenson.
Connie - I think you've picked some very good heroes! If we all had just a fraction of their selflessness and their vision for a better tomorrow, we could move mountains.
Connie Piper
I only wish I could do more. My (late) Husband was Special Forces and did not survive his injuries (sustained in Afghanistan back in June 2005). SSG Chritopher Neal Piper was his name and I live every day trying to do something to make things better somehow in A'stan. I have pamphlets for Sarah's soap and I buy small quantities to give to people I meet and think would be interested in the concept of helping to make A'stan a better place to live (by using the soap). Katherine, THANK YOU for all the awesome things you do!!
Connie - your husband is indeed a true hero, I am so sorry for your loss. I love that you are using these soaps to show how we can make a difference in Afghanistan. Thank you! We get updates from Arghand and hope to be able to share some news again soon.
These soaps look very yummy and fragrant. Unfortunately, I cannot order as I have a son with severe nut allergies and therefore cannot have nut products in the home.
This is the second time that we have featured Arghand's story and their products. We have carried over the conversation from the first feature so that we didn't lose any of these great questions, comments and support.
Thank you so much for all of the great and interesting feedback. We're all really thrilled to have finally launched our new products, so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Layne
Two years ago a friend of mine a member of the Poppy Eradication program contracted by the US Department of State. While he was there I began sending him care packages and one time threw in extra packets of vegetable seeds thinking he might be able to get folks to grow a garden. He ended up giving them to the locals. Since they were grateful I also contacted every seed supplier I could find, explained our goal of helping build friendship by replacing opium with food they could grow. I gave his address & my own to send them seeds. Many of the seed companies responded. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds were a major supporter and last season their catalog had a photo of the Afghan people. The sad thing was the eradication contract was cancelled. President Karzi's brother is the largest opium poppy grower in the country if not the world. Our US State Department run by Hillary Clinton told the contractors to leave Karzi's fields alone.
Reminds me of Air America during Viet-Nam era.
This is a wonderful way to build relationships and make a permanent change in the minds of Afghan people. Here is a follow-up artical to my guest comment about sending seeds to a friend in Afghanistan while he was worked as a contract soldier for the Dept of State, Afghan Poppy Eradication program. We need to ask why our Government would not cut down fields belonging to President Karzi's brother then why they cancelled the contract. They were making a signficant impact and my friend took a bullet in the leg for the cause. PEACE.
Layne, it's very hard for the Afghan people to understand why the USG and NATO continue to prop up the current Afghan regime. Which is why it is so important for people to have economic opportunities, productive work and contact with foreigners who are interested in forging real and mutually beneficial partnerships with them.
I bought the anti-oxidant face cream to "do good", and IT'S doing good for me. Despite using a very expensive facial cleanser and moisturizer, my face was developing blotchy red places, so I decided to try this as an alternate. It's pricey at $36 for a very small jar, but tiny dabs all over my face are all that I need. After just 2 nights, the red blotches are all but gone. Despite my age (60+) I don't have a wrinkle problem, but my face feels softer and I'm thrilled with the improved appearance. It's a joy to know that I'm supporting people trying to make a livelihood for themselves under incredibly difficult conditions, using some of the most natural and marvelous ingredients without added chemicals available anywhere and getting a great benefit for my skin. Such a win-win. Buy it for any of those reasons.
@Sandy - thank you for stopping back to share with us your experience using this product. A product that makes you look good, feel good, and does good is an ideal Grommet, and you who understand the positive impact your purchases can make are an ideal Grommet customer. Thank you for being a part of our community!
jennnifer Shor
These products sound heavenly. Is it possible to find out if they contain lanolin or wheat?
@jennnifer Shor: I will find out or have Jennie stop back. Thank you for posting!
@jennnifer Shor: No lanolin, no wheat!
Hello, All--
What a wonderfully worthwhile venture this is, and how beautiful these products look! I'm eager to show my support and make a purchase, so I have a question: Do you have a complete list of ingredients for each of the products? (Or is there a link somewhere to this information?) I ask because I have very sensitive skin and must avoid certain substances.
I thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response. More importantly, I offer my heartfelt wish for safety, blessings, and peace for all involved in this endeavor.
I found the lovely Arghand Cooperative site, , which features full ingredient listings for the products. Knowing their source and story, I consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to purchase and enjoy such beautifully pristine formulations.
Once again, I thank you, and sincerely wish peace to all!
@Kimberly: This cooperative is existing under unbelievable odds and to recognize and support their efforts will truly have a positive impact. We do list the ingredients under the details tab below the product video as well. We're glad that you stopped by.
Sorry so many of these items areoutnof stock...when might we be able to order them?
@Laura Mixter: We are expecting more in within the next two weeks.
Think of farming in Afghanistan and you probably think of one crop: opium poppy. More than 90% of the world's opium supply comes from this tiny war-torn nation. Competing with the opium industry isn't easy, but Sarah Chayes is encouraging farmers in southern Afghanistan to plant crops like apricots, pomegranates, and almonds instead. These legendary fruits of the Kandahar region are used to produce all natural skincare products through a cooperative called Arghand. Arghand was started by Sarah, a former National Public Radio reporter, in 2005. Its signature soap pebbles are crafted using age-old techniques. Each one takes six weeks to make. The result is a dense and long-lasting soap that resembles a beautiful stone polished by river water.
In the years since Sarah started Arghand, conditions in Afghanistan have remained unimaginably challenging. There had been talk of folding, but instead of giving up, Arghand is expanding, launching new skincare products to complement its soap pebbles. The new products include Desert Fields Body Lotion and Hydrating Antioxidant Face Cream, both of which blend wild pistachio oil with cold-pressed pomegranate seed oil and the distinctive perfume of Artemisia persica. There's also Essence of Rose Face Cream, which is made by drenching fresh rose petals in sweet almond oil, and Anisette Lip Balm, which combines anise oil with almond, apricot and pomegranate oils.
Arghand means "triumphant" in Persian  -  and the cooperative's survival in such a perilous place is truly a triumph. It's an inspiration to supporters near and far, including Connie Moralez, whose husband, Staff Sergeant Christopher Neal Piper, died from injuries sustained in Afghanistan in 2005. "I live every day trying to do something to make things better somehow in Afghanistan," Connie says. "I buy small quantities of soap to give to people I think would be interested in helping to make Afghanistan a better place to live." Read More Read Less


Word of Mouth blog
How to cook perfect kedgeree
Is kedgeree the breakfast of kings or is eating fish before lunchtime a bit too 19th century?
Felicity Cloake
Thu 24 Feb 2011 02.00 EST First published on Thu 24 Feb 2011 02.00 EST
Perfect kedgeree. Photograph: Felicity Cloake
The noble breakfast dish of kedgeree is a prime example of an Anglo-Indian culinary mash up, with its roots in khichri, a dish of spiced pulses mixed with rice which was already on the menu by the time the Moroccan explorer Ibn Batuta made it to Delhi in the mid-14th century.
The fish was a British introduction, as were the hard-boiled eggs. (Presumably we would have stuck some black pudding in there as well if Cook had happened across one in the cantonment stores.) Lizzie Collingham points out in Curry: a biography that fresh fish was already a staple of the Raj breakfast table, as, she quotes an early 19th century handbook as saying, "in the hot season, fish caught early in the morning would be much deteriorated before the dinner hour." It wasn't until the dish travelled back to the country homes of Britain that smoked haddock put in an appearance.
Madhur Jaffrey points out that the wetter end of the kedgeree spectrum is rather like a rice porridge, so it seems unsurprising that this, amongst all local dishes, became popular amongst the colonists. Not only would it have been vaguely familiar, but presumably, "like the local people, they found it ... good for invalids or those with hangovers", as Sri Owen puts it in The Rice Book. Hear, hear - there's nothing better after a night on the sauce than a steaming bowl of comforting, lightly spiced rice, silky with butter and strewn with salty, smoky fish and fresh-flavoured herbs; it wakes up your palate and soothes the stomach.
It didn't take the Victorians long to adapt the dish to suit their own tastes. The 1885 edition of Culinary Jottings for Madras, a (recently reprinted) collection of cookery articles from the Madras Athenaeum and Daily News by an Indian Army colonel, gives a rather unappetising sounding recipe for kegeree (sic) of "the English type", "composed of boiled rice, chopped hard-boiled egg, cold minced fish, and a lump of fresh butter ... tossed together in the frying-pan, flavoured with pepper, salt, and any minced garden herb such as cress, parsley, or marjoram, and served smoking hot." Not a spice in sight.
Interestingly enough, The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook, an 1888 publication quoted in The Road to Vindaloo, an utterly fascinating study of the British love affair with curry, includes a plainer recipe, rather like a spiced paella, in its chapter on "Native Dishes" - but then its author, the redoubtable Flora Annie Steele, wasn't your average memsahib.
I fry sliced onions in a generous amount of "boiling ghee" then remove these from the pan and put in 4 tbsp "well-washed" rice and 4 tbsp dal (I used some surplus ready-cooked moong dal, but dry lentils should work just as well). Once these have absorbed the remaining butter, I add ginger, peppercorns, cardamom, cloves and a cinnamon stick, cover the lot with water, and leave it to simmer until almost dry. The dish is served with the fried onion scattered over the top - delicious (and quite a revelation for anyone who thinks themselves daringly modern for liking a bit of spice at the breakfast table), but definitely "kidgeree", as Mrs Steele has it, rather than kedgeree.
Wet kedgeree
I find a recipe for "wet kedgeree" in The Prawn Cocktail Years, which Lindsay Bareham and Simon Hopkinson claim is "slightly controversial", possibly because it marries rice with a distinctly European white sauce.
While the rice cooks, I poach smoked haddock in milk, and then use this liquid to make a sauce thickened with flour and flavoured with cream, lemon juice, curry powder and sautéed onion. This is folded into the cooked rice and smoked fish, along with a small bunch of chopped chives, and the whole thing is topped with parsley and sliced boiled egg. It's undeniably comforting, but I think the cream dulls the spice and makes it into a fishy porridge, which, however authentic it may be, seems a shame. I like my kedgeree to have a bit more of a kick.
Thrifty kedgeree
Despite saying one should be "generous with the butter and cream" in the preamble to her kedgeree recipe, Jane Grigson doesn't use any dairy products to actually make it - after poaching the smoked haddock in water, she uses the same liquid to cook the rice, flavoured with sautéed onion and curry powder. The two are then mixed together, with a knob of butter, and topped with lemon slices, egg, parsley and prawns.
It's a clever and economical technique, but again, the flavours of the finished dish are not as vivid as I would like. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Nick Fisher use a similar method in their River Cottage Fish Book (while suggesting smoked pollack instead of the more popular haddock), poaching the fish in milk instead, but again, I find this slightly bland.
Fish fried rice
The Leiths Fish Bible version is very different, and more in the spirit of the original Raj dish, designed to use up leftover rice, than the others. After poaching the haddock, I fry a chopped onion in an impressive amount of butter until soft, add turmeric, green chilli, curry powder and chopped fresh ginger, sauté them briefly, and then stir through the cooked rice fish and eggs. The flavours are striking, and the generous amount of butter makes the rice rich and moist.
Sautéing pre-cooked rice in butter and spices keeps the flavours fresh, and the texture fluffy, rather than mushy. Leiths add fresh ginger, which I don't like with smoked fish, but their fresh green chilli adds a nice touch of freshness to the dish, as does a garnish of finely chopped coriander, rather than the more usual parsley. The chives used by Simon Hopkinson and Lindsay Bareham contribute a savoury, tangy quality that works particularly well with the eggs. On that subject, it's very modish to substitute soft-boiled or poached eggs, but I prefer a distinctly Victorian solidity on this occasion.
Despite what many modern chefs seem to believe, old-fashioned curry powder is an absolute must here - a couple of separate spices, as used by Nigella, just doesn't create the same effect. Salmon, scallops, mackerel - even prawns, all seem wrong to me: the fish should be white, smoked, and sustainable. This is a breakfast that leaves you in no doubt you're alive and well: silver chafing dish optional.
Perfect kedgeree
450g basmati rice
500g smoked haddock
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 green chilli, deseeded and cut into thin rings
2 crushed cardamom pods
1 tbsp curry powder
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half
Small handful chives, chopped
½ lemon, cut into 4 wedges
Small bunch of coriander, chopped
1. Toss the rice briefly under running water and then put it in a large pan and cover with cold water. Leave for at least half an hour.
2. Drain the rice and discard the soaking water. Put it in a large pan on a medium heat with 585ml fresh water.
3. Bring to the boil, and give it a good stir. Cover tightly and turn the heat down very low. Cook for 25 minutes then take off the heat - don't take the lid off! - and place on a wet tea towel. Leave for five minutes then fork through to fluff up.
4. Meanwhile, put the fish, skin-side up, in a shallow pan over a low heat, and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, then take out of the water and, when cool enough to handle, pull the skin off and break into large flakes.
5. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a lowish heat, and add the onion. Fry gently until softened, then stir in the chilli, cardamom pods and curry powder. Cook for a couple of minutes, then tip in the rice and stir to coat. Add the fish flakes and heat through. Taste and season.
6. Put the eggs on top, scatter with chives and coriander, and serve with slices of lemon to squeeze over.
Is kedgeree the breakfast of kings, or an aptly malodorous reminder of colonialism? Are there any other Anglo-Indian favourites which deserve to be better known - and can it really be true that kedgeree has its origins in Scotland rather than Shimla?
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Indian food and drink


Politics live with Andrew Sparrow
Tory conference 2014 - Theresa May slams Lib Dems over communications data bill: Politics live blog
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the developments at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, including David Cameron's morning interviews and speeches from Boris Johnson and Theresa May
Theresa May Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA
Andrew Sparrow
@AndrewSparrow
Tue 30 Sep 2014 12.45 EDT First published on Tue 30 Sep 2014 02.31 EDT
12.43pm EDT 12:43 Afternoon summary
12.00pm EDT 12:00 Conservative conference policy announcements - A round-up
11.48am EDT 11:48 Jeremy Hunt's speech - Summary
11.04am EDT 11:04 Nicky Morgan's speech - Summary
10.35am EDT 10:35 Lib Dems hit back at Theresa May over 'snooper's charter'
9.32am EDT 09:32 Lunchtime summary
8.28am EDT 08:28 Theresa May's speech - Summary
12.43pm EDT 12:43
Afternoon summary
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, has announced that two Tornados have attacked Islamic State targets in northern Iraq. They bombed an armed pick-up truck and a heavy weapons position.
The Lib Dems have accused Theresa May of peddling "misinformation" when she claimed that their opposition to the so-called "snooper's charter" was putting lives at risk. (See 3.35pm.)
The NASUWT teaching union has welcomed Nicky Morgan's speech to the Tory conference. Chris Keates, the union's general secretary, said:
Schools will welcome that Nicky Morgan has established herself as the secretary of state for all schools, not just academies and free schools. Teachers will welcome the recognition that their professional lives are blighted by excessive workload. They will welcome the secretary of state's commitment to address this. But tackling workload effectively will require the secretary of state to recognise the contribution of this government's policies to the current excessive workload burdens.
George Osborne, the chancellor, has played down suggestions he is obsessed with becoming prime minister. At a fringe meeting at the conference, he said it was a mistake for politicians to become too focused on ambition.
I try and live the life I'm leading now. I don't always think about what's going to happen in the future.I think people who, particularly in politics, are always waiting for the next job and angling for the next job, have a pretty miserable time - personally are miserable - don't enjoy politics, don't enjoy their careers in politics.
I am determined not to be that person. There are quite a lot of unhappy people in politics, disappointed people, people who through no fault of their own sometimes have been passed over.
Osborne has said he does not respect Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader. Asked if he admired him, Osborne replied.
The short answer is no, because I don't think he is being serious about the challenges the country faces.
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has said that all patients will have a named GP on their medical record under the new GP contract for 2015.
That's all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments (those of you who are left!)
Updated at 12.45pm EDT
Here's a one-item reading list. But it's quite a long item.
Anthony Seldon, who has written biographies of John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, gives his first, lengthy assessment of David Cameron's premiership.
Cameron's standing in the eyes of his contemporaries will depend greatly on whether he wins an outright majority in 2015, especially after his failure to do so in 2010. The judgment of history upon the years 2010-2015 will be far less dependent upon the result of the 2015 election. Indeed, Cameron's place in history is already secure: by holding together the coalition for five years, significantly improving the economic outlook from a desperately weak starting point, overseeing some steady if still unproven domestic reforms, and possibly winning the Scottish referendum, Cameron has ensured that he will be seen as a prime minister of enduring importance. In particular, Cameron accomplished two profound achievements as prime minister: sticking to 'plan A' on the economy, and sticking with the coalition. The 'big, open and comprehensive offer' to the Lib Dems was very much his own initiative. For better or worse - and I think better - the coalition was his, and history will judge him for it.
Conservative conference policy announcements - A round-up
For the record, here are the conference-related Conservative party policy announcements we've had so far. I'll be updating this list every day.
1 - Up to 100,000 new homes for first-time buyers under 40.
2 - Some 3m apprenticeships, funded by reducing the welfare cap and other welfare cuts. There are more details here.
3 - Stopping the European Court of Human Rights over-ruling British courts. Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, disclosed this in the Telegraph on Saturday, but details have not been announced.
4 - Making mobile phone companies allow "national roaming" so that customers get a better signal. Sajid Javid, the culture secretary, unveiled this in an interview in the Daily Mail on Saturday.
5 - More tax-varying powers for Wales.
6 - £150m tax cut for people who benefit when pension post money is passed on.
7 - Freezing working-age benefits for two years, saving £3bn a year.
8 - A "Google tax", taking the form of a crackdown on transfer pricing tax avoidance schemes used by multinationals.
9 - Piloting the ending of cash benefits for claimants in troubled circumstances, with benefits paid through pre-paid cards instead.
10 - GPs open seven days a week by 2020.
11 - New banning orders and extremism disruption orders to tackle terrorism.
12 - 35 new free schools.
13 - All patients to have a named GP on their medical record.
Jeremy Hunt's speech - Summary
Here are the main points from Jeremy Hunt's speech.
Hunt said that all patients would have a named GP on their medical record under the new GP contract for 2015. Over-75s already get a named doctor on their medical record, he said.
He confirmed that patients in England would be able to see their medical record online from April next year.
He criticised Labour for trying to politicise the health service.
It's not a Labour Health Service or a Conservative Health Service ... it is a National Health Service.
When people in this hall volunteer to support the local league of friends or join the board of a hospital we're not Conservative supporters - we're NHS supporters.
We all support the NHS because the NHS is there for us all.
So don't turn the National Health Service into a National Political Football and don't use the NHS to divide us when it's the fabric that unites our nation.
He said that Labour was "unfit to run out NHS" because it had not learnt the lessons from the Mid Staffs hospital scandal.
He accused Labour of scaremongering about privatisation in the NHS.
If we increase spending on the NHS we must also look every one of them in the eye and promise that every penny is being spent wisely.
Which means we mustn't stop new ideas that come from outside the NHS - whether from charities or, yes, the independent sector.
Labour call this privatisation.
But using a charity like WhizzKids to supply wheelchairs to disabled children or using Specsavers to speed up the supply of glasses is not privatisation.
When the last Labour government used the independent sector to bring down waiting times that wasn't privatisation either.
So stop scaremongering about privatisation that isn't happening.
He claimed this scaremongering about privatisation "nearly cost us Scotland".
He said the government had plans to train an extra 5,000 GPs.
He said the next Conservative government would have "no greater priority than to protect, support and invest in our NHS".
Jeremy Hunt Photograph: David Gadd/Allstar/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
Boris Johnson is not the only Tory being rude about Ukip at the conference. (See 10.29am.) According to KentOnline, David Cameron told a meeting of activists that Mark Reckless, the Ukip defector, had a "fat arse".
I wasn't timing the ovations during the Nicky Morgan speech, but Paul Waugh was, and she says the amount of time spent applauding Michael Gove was telling.
Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh)
Ovation for Nicky Morgan wasn't as long as applause for Michael Gove, when she namechecked him during her speech. #bigshoes
Nicky Morgan's speech - Summary
Michael Gove lost his job as education secretary, and was replaced by Nicky Morgan, because his confrontational approach to the teaching establishment was becoming an electoral liability. Morgan immediately adopted a more emollient tone and the key message of her speech to the conference this afternoon was that the government wants to restore good relations with teachers. She could not have been more positive.
Here are the main points.
Morgan said she wanted to reduce the burden on teachers. Teachers who have to stay up late marking homework will be "too tired, too stressed and too anxious to do the job well", she said. She said she would be talking to unions and teachers about finding solutions. (For a Conservative minister to talk positively about talking to unions in a conference speech is almost unheard of.)
She paid a lavish tribute to teachers. She said thank you:
to the teachers, teaching assistants and support staff, who rise early every day, go to work, and turn our plans into action.
If our school story has a hero, it is them.
The teacher you see every day at the school gate - there when the children are dropped off, and again when they're picked up.
The teacher that works late into the night, and then does it all again the following day.
As a parent - and through my own family - I know how dedicated and inspiring teachers can be. But in this job, I am reminded of it every day.
She said she wanted to do more to tackle homophobic bullying in schools.
She announced the approval of 35 new free schools.
She said she wanted to show "every school that we are on their side", not just free schools and academie
She criticised Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, as "a part-time politician and full-time celebrity historian".
Nicky Morgan Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has just started his speech. He began by saying that the next Tory government would have no greater priority than the NHS.
Lib Dems hit back at Theresa May over 'snooper's charter'
The Lib Dems have accused Theresa May of peddling "misinformation" about their opposition to the communications data bill. (See 1.28pm.) This is from a party spokesman.
We utterly reject the allegation that the blocking of the communications data bill has put lives at risk.
Police already have the ability to obtain data in urgent cases where lives are in danger.
The real problem is the availability of IP address data, where we have always accepted there is a need for action, and indeed publicly committed to legislation last year.
Frankly, it is woeful inaction on the part of the Home Office that solutions have not been identified to deal with this issue.
If failure to act on the IP matching problem has put lives at risk, the home secretary must explain why her department has not acted.
Theresa May is peddling misinformation in a vain attempt to get the so-called 'snooper's charter' back on the table.
Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose the Tories' obsessive intrusion into people's lives.
Lunchtime summary
Two prominent Conservative MPs have criticised Theresa May's proposed plan to ban extremists from speaking in public. After May used a well-received conference speech to confirm the party's commitment to extremism disruption orders, to attack the Lib Dems for not backing the communications data bill and and to make a wide-ranging case for confronting extremism generally (see 1.28pm), Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, said the extremism disruption orders could be counter-productive.
If one introduces measures which may be perceived as draconican, restricting other people's liberties, then this can have the unintended consquences of not actually tackling, correctly, the problem of which is arising, but simply fuel resentment. It's a very delicate balancing act, these two concepts that we have to pay attention to.
On the World at One Grieve said there might be a case for banning orders directed against organisations. But he said the government should be "much more careful" about placing restrictions on individuals. There was already a law criminalising incitement to hatred, he said.
It is difficult to see how in practice some of these restrictions would operate without leading to the consequence of that a person would end up being prosecuted for expressing a point of view which the home secretary has considered is extreme ...
In so far as the behaviour may be less serious than the commission of a criminal offence, then of course we have to carefully consider, in a free society, whether we are entitled to stop people from expressing views that we find repellant ... But any restriction on freedom of expression of individuals outside the criminal law is something that has to be approached with very great caution.
David Davis has also attacked May's plans at a fringe meeting.
Jonathan Freedland (@Freedland)
David Davis slams Theresa May terror proposals at Tory fringe. Says "they define me and define you as a terrorist"
Boris Johnson has said that the Conservatives do not need to be too worried about Ukip. Speaking on the World at One, when it was put to him that people in the party were "very worried" about the threat posed by Nigel Farage's party, Johnson said:
I'm not as worried as all that. The great secret in life is, when you're facing an opponent who tries to take the wind out of your sails, the secret is to talk about what you're going to do, not talk about them the whole time. The Conservatives want to deliver a better deal in Europe and we're the only people who is offering that and are the only people in Europe who can deliver that.
Earlier, in his speech to the conference, Johnson told the party they could win the general election.
I genuinely think that this is a fantastic time to be a Conservative and that just in the last few months we have seen the beginning of the end of the tapioca-like consensus that Ed Miliband could somehow osmotically infiltrate or inveigle himself into power by pandering to his core vote and relying on the gross unfairness of the electoral system.
The light is dawning, scales falling. Across the country the chattering classes are waking up to the reality that victory is within our grasp in the next eight months.
Boris Johnson addressing the Tory conference Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
David Cameron has defended his plan to carry out billions of pounds of extra cuts to benefits for the working poor, saying it is only fair to ensure welfare payments are not rising faster than earnings.
Sir Alan Moses, chair of the new press regulator, Ipso, has said the Sunday Mirror's Brooks Newmark sex sting is a "matter of urgent public concern" and indicated it would look to speed up the resolution process following a formal complaint.
Cameron has said the EU is not a matter of the heart for him, suggesting he would not be too emotional about whether Britain stays or goes in a referendum.
Richard Barnes, a former Conservative deputy mayor of London, has joined Ukip.
Tories have been told that people who walk past sex advertisements in phone boxes are missing evidence of modern slavery. As the Press Association reports, Mike Emberson told the conference one of the biggest mistakes to make was to assume slavery was a hidden crime, telling delegates at the Conservative Party conference: "If it's hidden, it's hidden in plain sight." Asked what he would say to people who cannot believe slavery thrives in Britain, the project director of the Medaille Trust - a charity which seeks to help women, men and children freed from human trafficking - told delegates in Birmingham: "Open your eyes. It's been very well covered in the press now, there's lots of government information out there and we've got a lot better at recognising and reporting on it."
Cameron has told Scottish Tory activists that the no campaign's victory in the independence referendum has created a huge opportunity to win back seats at the general election.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, has said that Labour will look at the detail of Theresa May's plans for new banning orders and extremism disruption orders before deciding whether to back them. But she criticised the government's record on counter-terrorism generally.
David Cameron and Theresa May have weakened counter-terror measures, so more action is needed to deal with extremists and terror threats and to prevent young people being drawn into barbarism.
But why won't they bring back tried and tested measures to stop terrorists and serious extremists - including relocation powers or control orders which experts believe would be far more effective than the TPIMs [terrorism prevention and investigation measures] Theresa May introduced?
And if the Home Secretary is serious about preventing extremism, why isn't she restoring the community Prevent programme that helped communities themselves prevent radicalisation? They were wrong to scrap this and it should be restored.
Ministers have made promises about extremism ASBOs before. We will need to look at the detail behind today's rhetoric as too often ministers have made announcements on tackling terrorism and extremism without any clues how they would work - for example David Cameron's press conference last month about holding British citizens in foreign airports.
Theresa May's speech - Summary
Immigration and the police are two of Theresa May's key responsibilities as home secretary. But, unusually for a Conservative conference speech, she covered both these topics in just a single paragraph. Instead she focused almost entirely on extremism, after starting her speech with a sobering passage asking her Tory, mostly white and middle-aged audience to imagine what young black men feel about stop and search.
The full text is here. And here are the main points.
May warned there was a risk of Islamic State (Isis) acquiring nuclear weapons if it is not defeated. Britain could not ignore the threat it posed, she said.
If [Isis] succeed in firmly consolidating their grip on the land they occupy in Syria and Iraq, we will see the world's first truly terrorist state established within a few hours flying time of our country. We will see terrorists given the space to plot attacks against us, train their men and women, and devise new methods to kill indiscriminately. We will see the risk, often prophesied but thank God not yet fulfilled, that with the capability of a state behind them, the terrorists will acquire chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons to attack us. This is not somebody else's battle. They have made clear their ambitions. And they have made us their enemies. And the lesson of history tells us that when our enemies say they want to attack us, they mean it. We must not flinch. We must not shy away from our responsibility. We must not drift towards danger and insecurity. While we still have the chance, we must act to destroy [Isis].
She confirmed plans to introduce new banning orders and extremism disruption orders to tackle extremism.
She said it was right to challenge extremism, not just violent extremism.
To live in a modern liberal state is not to live in a moral vacuum. We have to stand up for our values as a nation. There will, I know, be some who say that what I describe as extremism is merely social conservatism. But if others described a woman's intellect as "deficient", denounced people on the basis of their religious beliefs, or rejected the democratic process, we would quite rightly condemn their bigotry. And there will be others who say I am wrong to link these kinds of beliefs with the violent extremism we agree we must confront. To them I say, yes, not all extremism leads to violence. And not all extremists are violent. But the damage extremists cause to our society is reason enough to act. And there is, undoubtedly, a thread that binds the kind of extremism that promotes intolerance, hatred and a sense of superiority over others to the actions of those who want to impose their values on us through violence.
(Earlier this year May was seen as being in the "beating back the crocodiles" camp on extremism, as opposed to those, like Michael Gove, who favoured "draining the swamp" instead. The metaphor comes from Gove. Now it sounds like May has joined the crocodile beaters.)
She invited members of the audience to imagine what it felt like to be a black Briton subject to repeated stop and search by the police.
It's difficult for most of us here in this hall to really appreciate the effects of stop and search. You see, most of us are white. Most of us are of a certain age. Well, we're certainly not teenagers anymore. But imagine walking home, or driving to work one day, and being stopped by the police. Imagine, having done nothing wrong, you are patted down, you have your pockets turned inside out, and your possessions examined. Imagine you ask why you're being searched and you're told it's "just routine" even though the police need "reasonable grounds for suspicion" that you've broken the law. Imagine growing up and the indignity of this happening to you twenty, thirty, forty, even fifty or sixty times. And imagine what it's like to feel, deep down, that this is only happening because you're young, male and black.
She said more than 250,000 stop and searches carried out by the police were probably illegal, because there were not sufficient grounds to justify them.
She criticised Labour's record on stop and search.
Under Labour - you remember them, the party of equality - stop and search powers were extended and extended. Under the Conservatives, they've been cut back. Under Labour, oversight rules and safeguards were downgraded and discarded. Under the Conservatives, they've been strengthened. And the result is less and better-targeted stop and search.
She said that she had already acted to reduce the police use of stop and search and that, if stop and search did not become more targeted, she would legislate to make this happen.
She claimed that Liberal Democrat opposition to the proposed communications data bill was putting lives at risk.
Over a six-month period, the National Crime Agency estimates that it had to drop at least twenty cases as a result of missing communications data. Thirteen of these were threat-to-life cases, in which a child was judged to be at risk of imminent harm. In a three-month period, the Metropolitan Police had to drop twelve cases because communications data was not available. These cases included sexual offences and potential threat-to-life scenarios relating to a suicide threat and a kidnap.
The solution to this crisis of national security was the communications data bill. But two years ago, it was torpedoed by the Liberal Democrats. I'm told that the Lib Dems now tell the newspapers that "they might have to give ground on surveillance powers in a future coalition agreement". But they also say that they have "no intention of allowing changes before the general election". This is outrageously irresponsible, because innocent people are in danger right now. If we do not act, we risk sleepwalking into a society in which crime can no longer be investigated and terrorists can plot their murderous schemes undisrupted.
The Conservatives would bring in the bill if they won the election, she said.
She praised Islam as a religion of peace.
This hateful ideology has nothing to do with Islam itself. And it is rejected by the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Britain and around the world. The Quran says: "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other." It says: "let there be no compulsion in religion." So let the message go out from this hall that the extremists will never succeed in dividing us. Let the message go out that we know Islam is a religion of peace and it has nothing to do with the ideology of our enemies. Let us stand side by side with the British Muslims who are coming together and saying "not in my name".
Theresa May Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Britain is now the second biggest car manufacturer in Europe, he says. That is an astounding thing when you consider where the country was in the 1970s.
And if you get drunk in Las Vegas, and have to shelter under a bus stop, that bus stop will probably be made in London, he says.
And not just London - but the London borough of Hillingdon, a borough he hopes to represent in parliament next year.
Johnson urges the Tories to take the fight to the "semi-Marxist Miliband and Balls".
The Tories need to get out their message about their faith in "one nation enterprise". And let us Conservatives get on with their work of unleashing the talents of all and creating the most dynamic economy in Europe, he says.
That's it. The speech is over.
It was a jolly speech, but quite a safe one, and not one that contained anything particularly new.
I'll post the highlights from Theresa May's speech in a moment.
Johnson talks about British exports. One firm is even exporting
Johnson says that the Tories believe in wealth creation and the free market. All their policies are aimed at getting people into work.
And when people work, they should be well paid. That is why is he so proud of having extended the London living wage. And he has done that, not by compulsion, but by showing people it is the right thing to do. It leads to less absenteeism.
And there should be less EU regulation, he says. Only David Cameron can deliver a referendum. Alex Salmond, Nigel Farage and Ed Miliband won't, he says.
He says Cameron has "natural authority" in Brussels. He will lead the party in 2015 and beyond.
That is the new fisheries policy we need, he says: first chuck Salmond overboard, then eat the Kippers.
Johnson says London economy is thriving. That is helping the rest of the country.
The difference between the Tories and Labour is that they talk, we do, he says.
The Tories are building homes. And there is space to build 400,000 more homes in London, without getting near the green belt. He wants them marketed to Londoners, not oligarchs from the plant Zog, he says. Not that he's Zogist, he adds. Some of his ancestors came from Zog.
Johnson is now talking about some of his achievements in London: crime down, Crossrail on time, and new extensions to the Tube.
London has more visitors than Paris. "London is going gangbusters," he says.
It is the capital, not just of England, but of the UK, he says. And will remain so for our lifetimes.
You have permission to purr, Dave.
Matthew Pencharz (@mpencharz)
In the hall for @MayorofLondon 's speech
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NewsLocal NewsMorgan County
State plans public meeting on I-69 extension between Martinsville and Indianapolis
By: Tom Maccabe
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. - The state is wrapping up construction this month on the section of Interstate 69 between Martinsville and Bloomington, which means it's almost time to begin the next phase of the project.
The section of I-69 between Martinsville and Indianapolis will follow State Road 37 most of the way and then go through the Martinsville business district, the Johnson County suburbs and the Indianapolis Southwest Side.
READ | Section 5 of I-69 won't be completed by goal date | Long-delayed I-69 project between Martinsville and Bloomington is nearing an end
When finished, it will be possible to drive between Indianapolis and Evansville on an interstate highway.
Residents and business owners in Morgan, Johnson and Marion counties who are interested in learning more about the plans can attend a public information meeting hosted by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
It will be at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 17 at Martinsville High School, 1360 East Gray Street.
What's known as "Segment Six" will take an estimated five-years to build and will join up with I-465 near the current Harding Street, State Road 37 interchange.
Original plans called for the work to be done by 2027, but the time was cut by three years recently when Governor Eric Holcomb announced an additional $600 million in spending, money that's coming from higher tolls on trucks using the Indiana Toll Road.
MORE TOP STORIES | FDA inspection finds ' insanitary conditions' at Monat manufacturing facility | Indy mother says she won't pay funeral home until she gets her son's ashes | Road work to shut down sections of I-465 until early October | IMPD officer under investigation, video shows her carrying shotgun & spraying tear gas at people | Mother arrested after 2-year-old son left in hot car outside Delaware County apartment complex
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'Secrecy has been the hallmark and curse of British government for centuries'
By Francis FitzGibbon QC
11 October 2016 | 4:47 pm
Ian Cobain: 'no tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist'
Ian Cobain: 'no tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist'
REVIEW: Ian Cobain is a formidable prosecutor. In The History Thieves and its predecessor Cruel Britannia (2012) he has put the British State in the dock and charged it with obsessive secrecy and crimes including torture, illegal wars and extra-judicial executions. In the new book he rapidly chronicles the secret state's growth from 1657 (when the government authorised the opening of private letters as 'the best means to discover and prevent any dangerous and wicked designs against the Commonwealth') to the present panoply of secret courts and tribunals and Official Secrets Acts.
The thieves in the title are the officials who for generations have destroyed or hidden the official records of the darkest deeds done by or at the behest of the state. The thefts have three kinds of victim: the people who suffered and deserve redress; historians who can expose what happened; and future victims who are vulnerable to repeat performances, because public ignorance confers impunity.
The end of Empire saw acts of great savagery by officials and military personnel, followed by destruction of records. The most shocking was the treatment of suspected Mau Mau rebels in Kenya, before independence. Men were killed and castrated, and women were raped, in what can only be called concentration camps (camps where suspects were concentrated). Records were kept. High officials and ministers in Nairobi and London were kept informed. Although many colonial records were deliberately destroyed, the Kenya records were kept, though officials lied about their existence for 50 years until they were uncovered at a secretive Foreign Office facility, and eventually made available to the elderly Kenyan survivors - though only after the government did all it could to hold them back. Compensation was made, at the ends of lives ruined by torture and callous falsehoods.
Kenya is the classic case: appalling misdeeds, sanctioned from on high; denials; records kept secret, and only released under overwhelming legal & public pressure. Cobain details similar stories, in dirty secret hidden wars in Vietnam (1945, when captured Japanese troops were outsourced under British officers to restore French rule in Vietnam); Indonesia, 1946; Oman and Yemen in the 1960s. And in Northern Ireland, where under a cloak of secrecy British agents were controlling death squads who murdered Catholics, the files of an independent investigation were destroyed in a mysterious arson attack, and the killers, agents and their handlers have had impunity.
Secrecy has been the hallmark and curse of British government for centuries. Under it, evil can flourish without proper checks on official action. It breeds suspicion and paranoia when it is the default setting, and the all-pervasive obsession with secrecy makes it hard to see what when it really is essential for the preservation of life and national security.
Cobain is no tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist: he sets out evidence for conspiracies that have really happened. We are asked to take too much on trust from institutions who time and again have shown themselves to be untrustworthy. And secrecy can destroy itself: when Philby came under suspicion before his eventual defection to the USSR, he relied on the Official Secrets Act to avoid journalists' questions about his work as a British agent.
We have come to learn of the massive capabilities of modern states to keep their populations under all kinds of surveillance. Where law lags behind technological advances (as it always does), the agencies are in a bind. Terrorists and cyber-attackers sponsored by hostile states exist and want to do harm. No state can ignore them. A state that aspires to the rule of law must find a balance between national security and national and personal liberty.
Hence, the Interception of Communications Bill. Many people think that the Bill grants far too much freedom and secrecy to the agencies, and far too little to us. By 'us' I mean lawyers and their client, as much as the public at large. The crowning irony of the Bill, which Cobain does not mention, is the power it will give the spooks to intercept privileged communications between lawyers and their clients. This goes far beyond the 'iniquity exemption', by which lawyers and clients can't claim privilege if they abuse the relationship to plan or commit crimes. Instead, the state will keep its secrets, but will have complete access to ours. Little could be more destructive of the rule of law than this, that same rule of law that national security exists to protect.
The History Thieves: Secrets, lies and the shaping of a modern nation is out now - published by Portobello Books (buy here)
Author: Francis FitzGibbon QC
Francis FitzGibbon QC is a criminal barrister at 23 Essex Street. He is immediate past chair of the Criminal Bar Association. The views expressed here are personal
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Our print magazine is Proof. Contributors include Michael Mansfield QC, Bob Woffinden, David Rose, Eric Allison and Ian Cobain.
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Man faked bomb threat after missing flight
bombsasdrunkdamagesscandinavian airlinesfalse alarmarlandamalta
A man has been charged with raising false alarm after faking a bomb threat in order to prevent a Malta-bound Scandinavian Arlines flight from taking off without him.
The already delayed plane was just about to depart when a 41-year-old man from Gävle in central Sweden reportedly came running towards the gate, shouting "I'm getting on that plane!"
When a Scandinavian Airlines staff member told the man that it was too late to board, he said, repeatedly, that there was a bomb on the plane.
The pilot was told to stop the plane and police were called.
While waiting for the police to arrive, the man threatened to call the Aftonbladet newspaper to tell them there was a bomb on board an SAS plane and that he was not being allowed to catch his flight.
The man's breath apparently smelled of alcohol.
Asked by the police whether he realized the seriousness of issuing a bomb scare, the man replied that him not being allowed on the plane was just as serious.
When the police told him he would not be travelling, the 41-year-old pointed at the plane, which was returning to the gate, and said that he would be getting on it.
"It's coming back so I can go," he said.
But instead of holidaying in Malta the man got to travel to a police detention centre in Stockholm.
During questioning he said that he was a diabetic and was not quite sure what he was talking about.
The plane was evacuated and searched and the passengers were transferred on to a different plane before finally leaving for Malta over two hours late.
Nine passengers missed their connecting flights as a result and had to spend the night in a hotel.
One passenger was treated by medical personnel after experiencing breathing difficulties.
SAS has demanded that the 41-year-old pay the airline 100,000 kronor ($15,000) in damages.
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Russian Authorities Cannot Prohibit Rallies Over Security, Top Court Rules
Rally in defense of freedom of speech and journalism in Moscow Mikhail Tereshchenko / TASS
Russia's Constitutional Court has ruled that the authorities cannot refuse authorization for rallies over their inability to provide security, the state-run TASS news agency has reported.
Authorities in the Siberian city of Irkutsk rejected activist Valery Teterin's request to hold a rally last fall, citing Teterin's inability to define how organizers would ensure public order and security. Teterin appealed the decision, saying that Russia's laws on rallies don't clearly define requirements for ensuring public order.
Valery Teterin Ekaterina Vertinskaya / sibreal.org
The Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that although rally organizers should participate in ensuring order and participants' safety, the authorities are ultimately responsible for ensuring safety and security at protests.
Teterin's lawyer, Sergey Golubok, was cited as saying by the Fontanka news website that the vague wording of Russia's protest law has allowed the authorities to prohibit protests that clash with their agendas.
"I don't like what the [rally] organizer has written, so let's not consider their application. If we don't consider the application, there will be no rally," Golubok said.
"We only know that this is the tip of the iceberg," Golubok told the BBC Russian service when asked if the Constitutional Court's decision will affect the process of authorizing rallies throughout the country. "No one can say for sure how many public events are refused in Russia, since local authorities are involved. But there is no basis for this [refusal]," Golubok added.
A 2014 Russian law regulating protests, which critics say is unconstitutional, requires all protests and rallies consisting of more than one person to obtain prior approval from the authorities.


Russians Are Increasingly Protesting Social, Not Political Issues - Study
Yuri Kochetkov / EPA / TASS
Russians are increasingly likely to rally over social than political issues, according to a newly released study of protests in the first three months of 2019.
Freedom of assembly has been gradually restricted in Russia since a wave of mass protests in 2011-2012 against President Vladimir Putin. Observers say that nonpolitical demonstrations have become more frequent in recent years amid a rise in general discontent.
Russians Are No Longer Scared to Protest
More than one-third of 429 rallies in 2019 concerned social issues, the Center for Social and Labor Rights said in a study published Friday. That's almost double the 86 social protests flagged in the same period of 2018.
More than half of the social protests focused on rising trash pickup costs, unpopular retirement age hikes and benefit cuts, the Moscow-based NGO said.
Study author Anna Ochkina said the protests have spread across Russia this year, with residents far outside the country's urban centers now taking to the streets over local and regional issues.
Top Russian Official Predicts Protest 'Explosion' if Economy Doesn't Improve
"The geography is now very diverse," she told the Kommersant business daily Saturday. "These cities rarely flashed on the map of protest activity two or three years ago."
Environmentalists, defrauded co-investors and other issues-based protesters increasingly prefer not to refer to their actions as political, said Lev Gudkov, the head of Russia's independent Levada Center polling agency.
"It's common conformism stemming from the Soviet era," he told Kommersant.


Home " Rajasthan and then a Joyful Brief Visit to Kabini
Rajasthan and then a Joyful Brief Visit to Kabini
In the early hours of the morning we drove to Delhi Station to board the Shatabdhi Express to Dholpur. The train left on time, full of Europeans who were going to see The Taj Mahal at Agra - Dholpur is the next stop after Agra. The train was delayed by the considerable fog along the way but eventually we arrived to a warm welcome in sunshine by Raj Niwas manager Vijay Hada and his wife Bhavana. It was eight years exactly since we had been at Raj Niwas the palace of the Dholpur royalty. Vasundhara Raje is the Chief Minister of Rajasthan and her son Dushyant was there too. Much has been done at Raj Niwas and the cottages and suites are lovely with stylish interiors and beautiful green lawns with peacocks parading and calling. We then went on a river safari on the Chambal river and saw plenty crocodiles and gharials and turtles and birdlife. Lunch in the sunshine under a colourful umbrella on the lawn was a delight, with interesting birdlife darting amongst the trees. The Old Palace is now closed but opened for museum visits to see its eccentricities that go back to 1876 when the then Maharajah of Dholpur built the whole palace to receive the then Prince of Wales.... Queen Victoria's heir. We had stayed in the Palace in 2008 and had experienced the vintage plumbing and huge fully tiled rooms with beautiful tiles that would have been manufactured in Coalbrookdale in Shropshire I am pretty sure.... sometimes it had felt as if we were sleeping on the floor of a Victorian swimming pool! The Palace is essential viewing for visitors.
Agra and Sariska Wildlife Park
We then drove on and skirted Agra, but the road to Agra is very good now and so it is an easy place to stay from which to visit the Taj Mahal and other outstanding World Heritage Sites in the vicinity. We spent a night at Laxmi Niwas at Bharatpur.... a place we had visited previously also in 2008. Sadly the great Keoladeo Bird Park seems still to be bereft of water. I recall it in 1997 when it was so beautiful and full of birdlife.
We arrived finally at Vanaashrya which is a lovely Tented Resort with swimming pool, Spa and excellent facilities very near to Sariska Wildlife Park. This we enjoyed hugely and the Tent was so comfortable with glorious beds and careful comfortable facilities. The welcome was huge and the food was good. I had a most splendid foot massage after a long day and the musicians sang and played and it was a convivial evening with excellent dinner. The night had the noises of a wild place with jackals keening and then peacocks calling. We were up at dawn for entry to the park. This is a very pleasant park which is often overlooked but repays careful attention. We also liked that it was laid back and had few vehicles but we were with a careful Naturalist. A good morning, then back for breakfast, a shower and farewell. I could have easily stayed another night just relaxing and enjoying the ambience.
Legends of of Bhangarh Fort
En route to Ranthambhore we went to Bhangarh which is a deserted fort and village not far away from Vanaashrya. The Bhangarh Fort is located on the border of the Sariska Reserve in the Aravalli range of hills in Alwar district of Rajasthan. The nearest village is Golakabaas. The fort is situated at the foot of the hills on sloping terrain. The ruins of the King's palace are located on the lower slopes of the hills and trees surround the pond area and a natural stream falls into the pond within the premises of the palace.
There are two legends narrated as to the history of the fort city which is reported to be haunted and no one is allowed to remain in the precincts of the fort at night as per a notice board put up by the Archaeological Survey of India at the entrance.
One version of the legend is that a sadhu named Baba Balanath lived within the fort area. It was his injunction that any houses built in the precincts of the fort should not be taller than his house and in case the shadow of any such house falling on his house would result in destruction of the fort town
In another version, the wizard who was adept in black magic fell in love with Ratnavati, the princess of Bhangarh who was very beautiful and had suitors to marry her from many royal families of the country. One day while the princess, 18 years of age, went shopping with her friends and was buying Attar (scent) the wizard saw this and replaced the scent with some potion in order to ensnare the princess. He offered the potion to her so that she took a liking for him and marry him. However, the princess saw through the wizard's trickery and when he offered her the bowl of potion, she threw it on a big boulder nearby and as a result the boulder started rolling down towards the wizard and crushed him. Before he died he cursed that Bhangarh would be destroyed soon and no one will be able to live within its precincts. Subsequent to the curse Bhangarh Fort was invaded by the Mughals from the north and the city was surrounded and sacked; 10,000 people lived in the fort city at that time. All the people in the fort including the princess were killed. The present state of the fort is attributed to the curse of the wizard and people believe the ghosts in the fort are that of the princess and the wizard. Since that day, it is believed that paranormal activities take place here during the nights.
View album photographs
Well I really do not know about all that, but I enjoyed visiting in the hot sunshine of the noon day sun. Eventually, after a long drive, we reached Sawai Madhopur which is the town next to which Ranthambhore Wildlife Park is located. I know it well from previous visits. This time we again stayed at the very reliable Ranthambhore Regency Hotel and were given a very warm efficient welcome and were glad of tea and biscuits on the lawn. This is a busy hotel which is efficiently run. The owner of Vanaashrya is Arvind Jain and his brother Ravindra owns the Regency.... or both own them as a family business. Either way these hotels are well managed. At the Regency it was completely full, mostly with British tourists all eager to spot a tiger.
Sleeping Tiger absolute delight
There is a swimming pool, elegant large rooms and modern bathrooms, a Spa, good food and good observant service plus efficient management of jeeps and cantaurs for wildlife spotting in the Park. We went out the next morning and heh presto....our jeep came upon a most beautiful sleepy male Tiger T74. He was a delight and we had ages in which to observe and photograph him. Then we had to undergo the usual hiatus with a whole lot of jeeps and cantaurs arriving and matters got out of hand. The only living being behaving appropriately was His Highness the Tiger.
Enough said! We moved on and spied other lovely wildlife, birds, crocodiles, sambur and chital. Then just at the end having returned to cross the river we again saw T74 who had not moved at all and on the way out we came across Arrowhead the female and she too was sleepy. It was a splendid morning and we were both delighted. That afternoon after a good light lunch we went to the old Fort in the Ranthambhore Wildlife Park. We had first visited in 2002 but this time we clashed with a religious festival and the place was covered in crowds and infested with monkeys so after a while we beat a retreat.... nevertheless, enjoying driving through the Park in warm sunshine. We then visited the shop called Tribal-Wild Women Craft. It is a good place with eager staff. I ordered two short kurtas and a hand painted version of a bird on silk. All this for our departure the next morning. We bought the obligatory T Shirts for the five grandchildren and had a pleasant time interacting with the owner and his wide awake young son Udit Rathore. I always try to buy something locally and in this places the local Tribal Women were sitting outside sewing and embroidering their typical pieces which was nice to see. Masala chai went down well too.
Tea on the lawn and the others who had returned to the Park were either full of wonder at having seen tigers or sad that they hadn't. I felt blessed with the two we had seen at Pench and now two at Ranthambhore. Years ago I had seen the legendary Maachli and three tiger cubs here. The next morning we collected our order from Tribal Wild Women Craft and were on our way. Again a long drive and this time to Shahpura Haveli.
We went by way of Ramgarh Lodge Hotel. The Gateway Hotel Ramgarh Lodge Jaipur was once the favourite hunting retreat of the Maharaja of Jaipur. ... The Ramgarh Lodge was built in 1933 designed by Sir Swinton Jacob with a Spanish theme almost 30 years after the man-made lake was created in 1903 at Jamwa Ramgarh. This was a favourite retreat for the legendary Maharani of Jaipur....later known well as Rajmata Jaipur when the Maharaja sadly died of a polo accident. I recall them all in their splendour as a child at polo tournaments in Kolkata in the 1950s and early 1960s. Ayesha Jaipur's mother the legendary Ma Cooch Behar wrote a book with my own grandmother Aline Rose, after whom I was named about 100 years ago! (I combined the photos of Ramgarh Lodge with Bhangarh Fort earlier)
We arrived at Shahpura Haveli in time for tea.... all drives in India seem to take about four hours and this one had been slightly longer as we had stopped for lunch. There was a warm welcome from the manager of Shahpura Haveli. It has been restored with care and enthusiasm and there are further plans to progress the restoration. We were given a sumptuous suite, currently there are only four suites. We enjoyed ourselves but were the only people staying. The food is good and the management responded to our requests. The town of Shahpura is cut in half by the main highway. It is a typical little Rajasthan town with good and challenging points. There is an attempt at cleaning and neatness.... but there is a very long way to go. We did a town walk and watched a sweet young Muslim girl make bangles. This was fascinating and we bought two she made to our requirements for our granddaughter in her favourite colours. What heartened me was the information that the young girl is in fact studying Geography and Sanskrit at the local university and has another different sort of employment, but does this craft in the family firm. A young woman with choices which warms my heart. We visited local sites of heritage interest and then a Charity that houses and educates orphan children which we found very worthwhile. There are no photographs at their request. I interacted with the boys, there are also girls but I did not meet them. I spoke in Hindi but was helped out by the young manager from Shahpura. It was also an encouraging visit. Bal Ashram (Bachpan Bachao Andolan) was founded by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and has significant property and garden area with good amenities quite close to Jaipur. There was a young footballer who came to talk to us. He had been sent on a six-month secondment to help teach football and team spirit and all the values that are worthwhile.
View ablum photographs
Onward to Jaipur
We moved on to Jaipur the following day and arrived at Shahpura House. This is a very nice old city mansion which has had a new efficient elegant and comfortable Wing added to it which is very new. I liked it. There are the usual amenities of a swimming pool, the Spa, good dining room and rooftop dining plus a very good shop. The shower was excellent which always is a top consideration for me! This hotel was busy with many Europeans and Australians.
Whilst in Jaipur we were the Guests of Mahindra World City. In 2015 we had been the special guests of Mahindra World City in Chennai and really enjoyed the whole experience including their Mahindra World School. Here the MWC is quite young and there is no school as yet. It is however about twice the size of the Chennai city and has huge potential right on the edge of a burgeoning Rajasthani city which is the capital of the State and now designated a Smart City. We were warmly welcomed by Mr Sanjay Srivastava the COO and his senior colleagues and given a presentation of the MWC Jaipur and its aspirations. It really is very encouraging and I have no doubt that if I were to return in a few years the whole place will have matured with fine trees and vegetation and instead of 65 companies being represented there will be twice that number. We discussed the whole aspect of new cities.... after all, in the UK in post-World War II Britain in the late 1950s and right through the 1960s the various governments established whole new towns in both England and Scotland.... I am more au fait with the Scottish ones and 60 years on some of them are excellent. Some it has to be said were victims of depressing architecture and a soulless ambience. Sadly, it seems only architects are paid to make mistakes....and we live with their mistakes forever after. In the case of Glasgow however and some parts of London they realised their errors and some buildings have been demolished to make way for more modern realistic ideas.
In India the emphasis must be on the environment and cleanliness and greening an area (which is arid semi desert anyway) and the general aspiration of providing a place that reflects the Mahindra Mantra. LIVELIHOOD, LIVING, LIFE. I agree wholeheartedly.
In the late afternoon we visited the delightful boutique of Princess Bhargavi Kumari Mewar called Aashka in the Hotel Narain Niwas Palace gardens. It is an elegant delight and full of lovely items of clothing and household soft furnishings and objets d'art. Afterward Aavi and Loku took us to tea at Rambagh Palace which is always a delight to experience. A special memory.
All too soon we were on a flight down to Bengaluru with Indigo. It is a long drive to Orange County Kabini and we hit some obstacles that made it longer. Therefore it was a great pleasure to arrive as the sun set to a very warm welcome and the sheer bliss of this lovely place. We had not been for four years and the vegetation and trees have all matured and it looks so wonderful. How I recall a decade ago being shown the plans and then looking out over Lake Kabini.... now it is a beautiful comfortable place but totally in keeping with its setting in a wild area of Karnataka. We had a wonderful dinner and glorious bed. The next morning the birdsong woke me pre sunrise and I walked around enjoying the whole ambience. I worked on my tablet at the pool lounge where there is Wi Fi. These cottages are so roomy and comfortable and breakfast was a lovely dosa and fruits. Then we asked chef if he would make us plain yoghurt in matka pots which he did and we loved.
We went on a boat safari that afternoon and saw plenty from the comfort of the boat. As the sun set we arrived back to a welcome tea and eats. The infinity swimming pool called (the pool cottages have their own little pools) and looking out on the lake as the light went was sublime. Four nights here was a perfect end to our two months in India. We had a dawn safari which was pleasant. I personally feel that Karnataka Forestry have to up their game with regard to the vehicles they provide and their whole ethos....but then I have said this before. Make your visitors welcome, they bring you good revenue and do NOT frighten the wildlife! Our last afternoon was the pool, tea under an umbrella, watching the elephant plod by with various people on her back, then the bullock cart trundle by doing a similar job, someone was in a coracle experiencing that and we were just drinking up a beautiful sunset and precious memories of a most favourite place. We saw a hare.... lollop by our villa.... shy but not that scared and the birdlife was excellent too. We saw wild elephants and crocodiles and deer and gaur.... we did not see the black leopard or the tiger sadly but others did. A precious time indeed.
The next day we drove to Bengaluru and stayed at The Paul. This is an excellent hotel in the good shopping district and business area of Blare. We have stayed there previously and it is owned by the man who owns Kumarakom Lake Resort. A high standard of comfort and food and welcome.
We flew home on Emirates. Bengaluru Airport is a delight and such a contrast to our arrival at Mumbai. Beautiful gardens surrounding it, clean efficient airport and communicative personnel on the immigration and passport control.
Now we are back in our beloved home; Spring has sprung to our joy...may it be a good summer full of sunshine and promise of good things to come. In our memories are all the beloved places, the special experiences, some of the challenges and our poignant Phir Milengi.... until we meet again in ...... India.
Kabini


COFFEE NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDING MARCH 8TH
Hello and welcome to another edition of the Coffee News Roundup. I don't really have anything to say here, except to thank you for reading.
Hey, thanks for reading.
Yep, that's it. Let's get on with things, shall we.
Mexican Brewers Cup Champion Carlos Maqueda Denied Visa - via Barista Magazine
The World Brewers Cup Championship is happening this April as part of the Specialty Coffee Association's Expo in Boston. Absent this year, however, is likely to be Mexican Brewers Cup champion Carlos Maqueda, who was denied a temporary visa to travel to Boston and represent Mexico in the competition.
According to an interview in Barista Magazine, who broke the story, Maqueda tried multiple times to apply for the visa and was denied each time, despite meeting all the requirements. This is not the first time a coffee competitor has been denied a visa, and not even the first time a Mexican competitor has been rejected.
World Coffee Events, which runs the Brewers Cup competition along with the World Barista Championship and other competitions, said in a statement that visa denials "are a recurring challenge in presenting these global events," and that they try to offer as much assistance as possible to competitors who suffer these issues.
A previous Iranian competitor, Mehran Mohammad Nezhad, was eventually able to gain entry to the United States after challenging the initial visa refusal, so there is some precedent for Maqueda to invoke (although that was back in 2015, and immigration rules have changed a bit since then).
The US coffee industry is rallying behind Maqueda, with appeals to politicians and other attempts to provide assistance. It's pretty lamentable that a champion barista from a producing country is denied entry to one of the coffee world's premier competitions, just because it is being held in the US, while the coffee itself has no problems.
Farmer Reps Accuse Roasters of Counterfeiting as Kona Controversy Escalates - via Daily Coffee News
Well this story is fascinating.
As you may or may not know, coffee from Hawaii is expensive. This is partly due to its quality, but mostly to do with the fact that it's grown in the United States so fair wages must be paid to workers (the question of why this isn't the case in other countries is a discussion for another time).
Kona coffee is also good marketing, so big coffee chains on the mainland like to tout the name on grocery store shelves. They just don't much like paying for the privilege, apparently.
A lawsuit brought by up to 1,000 Hawaiian coffee farmers alleges that much of the coffee sold as Kona in fact contains little to no coffee from that island. The defendants include grocery chains Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger, as well as coffee companies such as Gold Coffee Company, Copper Moon Coffee, and Magnum Coffee (no, me either).
The suit states: "Even though only 2.7 million pounds of authentic green Kona coffee is grown annually, over 20 million pounds of coffee labeled as 'Kona' is sold at retail," the suit states. "That is physically impossible; someone is lying about the contents of their 'Kona' products."
Sassy.
At the same time, a bill is making its way through the Hawaiian State Legislature that would require coffee labeled as "Kona" to contain at least 51 percent coffee from Kona. You know, as you would expect.
It should be noted, however, that similar bills have been introduced in the past and none has actually been approved. You know, as you would expect.
Coffee Shop For Instagram Influencers Promises Expensive Designer Lattes - via Gothamist
Oh dear lord.
Yes, there's a coffee shop opening in New York that will serve up lattes specifically for your Instagram. Or something. It's all a bit weird.
There is certainly a trend of restaurants and coffee shops designing their interiors with Instagram in mind, whether it be murals or plant walls, but this is rather more blatant.
Coffee 'n Clothes is apparently a lifestyle/coffee brand, whose claimed mission is "to be the best in the world at making coffee sharable and stylish".
Their new cafe will offer "the most expensive latte you can drink", according to Gothamist.
Sounds like a winning combination.
Why do we hate decaf so much? via Vox
This is a good question.
The "death before decaf" meme is all over the place, and people seem to feel very strongly about coffee's caffeine content. As this excellent Vox article explains, caffeine intake is embedded in the modern cult of the hustle, wherein everyone has to be busy all the time. Decaf coffee, it seems, doesn't fit into that highly-Instagrammable lifestyle.
It's also perceived as being, well, boring. It's for old people, or weird people who can't tolerate caffeine. It's not cool in the least - Vox describes Swiss Water Process opening pop-up cafes in New York as a way to introduce the city to good quality decaf, and essentially being run out of town on a rail.
Then there's the fact that a lot of decaf just isn't very good, which is assumed to be due to the decaffeination process but is probably more to do with lack of care in the storing and preparation on the part of baristas (dialling in the decaf espresso is never a priority in a busy cafe).
As a barista and then roaster, I was asked the same question over and over: What is decaf coffee? How is it decaffeinated? I ended up writing about it, partly as a way to educate myself on the topic (the article turns out to be surprisingly popular on Pinterest).
Decaf coffee doesn't have to be bad (I had a Colombia water processed decaf a few years ago that ws sensational). People just have to care about it, and put the effort in to roasting and brewing it correctly.
And people have to want to buy it, which is the harder part.
Read the full story here (it's very good).
Starbucks launches its latest drink, the Cloud Macchiato - via CNBC
I had a whole bit worked out about this launch, and how Starbucks' version of a macchiato is a sham, but I just can't. I can't care about this.
I don't even know why I'm leaving it in, except to wonder why exactly CNBC is reporting on what is essentially a press release. Oh wait, Ariana Grande is involved. That makes sense - CNBC needs the clicks just like everyone else.
Read the full story here, if that's your thing.
Well, mushroom coffee is in the news this week, but we've already covered this particular fad (quick summary: it's gross and probably pointless).
Then there's a story discussing whether that Starbucks cloud travesty up there is healthy due to the egg whites in the foam (that's right, egg whites). Turns out, adding egg whites to coffee doesn't make it any more healthy, mostly because the drink also contains two or three pounds of sugar (probably).
The lesson here? Adding stuff to coffee is stupid and unnecessary (unless we're talking diner coffee and cream, in which case go for it).
What to read (and watch)
How A Cambodian Refugee Started A Bushwick Coffee Empire And Communal Hub by Abigail Koffler
'Damn Fine': Grace Dent Reviews Alain Ducasse's £15 Cup Of Coffee by Grace Dent
A Cup Of Coffee Is Helping Refugees Join The American Dream by CNN (video)
Understanding The 'Cafe Worker Species' In The Third Place by Victoria Brown
Until next week, drink good coffee. Maybe try some decaf.
COFFEE AT THE MOVIES EPISODE 6: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
COFFEE AT THE MOVIES EPISODE 5: PULP FICTION
COFFEE AT THE MOVIES EPISODE 4: GHOST WORLD
COFFEE AT THE MOVIES EPISODE 3: LOOPER
COFFEE AT THE MOVIES EPISODE 2: THE BIG LEBOWSKI
COFFEE AT THE MOVIES EPISODE 1: SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
Coffee NewsFionn Pooler March 8, 2019 b
Coffee NewsFionn Pooler March 15, 2019 b
COFFEE NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDING MARCH 1ST


Home " I'll Give You the Sun (MP3 CD)
I'll Give You the Sun (MP3 CD)
By Jandy Nelson, Julia Whelan (Performed by), Jesse Bernstein (Performed by)
A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell
Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways...until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they'd have a chance to remake their world.
This radiant, fully alive novel from the critically acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing--often all at once.
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Prebound (October 27th, 2015): $21.80
Compact Disc (October 27th, 2015): $14.99
MP3 CD (October 27th, 2015): $9.99
Pre-Recorded Audio Player (September 2014): $64.99


Man City Manager Pep Guardiola Declares Liverpool the Best Team in Europe
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola have met the media ahead of their epic clash tomorrow night, a match that is as big as one single game can be. Guardiola maintains that no one trusts his team right now to get the result given the lackluster form they have shown during parts of December.
City was undefeated domestically, until the loss at Chelsea on December 15. They have since been beaten by Crystal Palace and Leicester City. With his side having fallen to third, the Spaniard believes that Liverpool is now the team to beat, declaring them the best in Europe.
"I know today nobody trusts us but it is what it is," Guardiola said.
"(Liverpool) are in the moment the best team in Europe, in the consistency, the way they control the details in their game. We are going to focus on what we have to do to win the game. Everyone is talking as if we lose, but we can win."
"The reality is clear so we have seven points down so it will be the second game of the second leg (of the Premier League campaign), so there a lot of points to play for. I have the feeling it is a big opportunity for us to reduce the gap. My focus is the same."
"Everybody is asking what will happen if we lose, but what will happen if we win? It is our chance to fight for the Premier League."
Guardiola also said that his all-world midfielder Kevin De Bruyne could be ready to Thursday night.
"He trained today but tomorrow [Wednesday] we need another check in the morning but he is much better," Guardiola said at the news conference.
Liverpool at Manchester City FYIs
Kick-off: 8:00 pm (BST), 3:00 pm (EST) Thursday January 3, City of Manchester Stadium
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win- 47%, Draw 26%, Liverpool win- 27%
Odds via Bet365: Manchester City 21/20, draw 29/10, Liverpool 5/2
Recent form: Liverpool- WWWWWW Manchester City- WLWLLW
Manchester City starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Prediction: City 2, Liverpool 2
Filed Under: Football/Soccer, Liverpool, Manchester City


Glimpses into Buddhist way of life
(From right) Ven Jing Jie explaining the items featured in the 'Buddha Among Us' exhibition at the Malaysia Buddhist Association's Wisma Education and Charity in Penang. With him are Ooi and Khoo.
A DETAILED display on Buddha, Dharma and Sangha of both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism will be showcased at the Malaysian Buddhist Association in Burma Road, Penang, for the upcoming Wesak Day celebration.
The 'Buddha Among Us' exhibition, from May 11 to 19, will feature six booths highlighting activities including Wesak Day celebration, charity events, Buddhist youth activities, Buddhist weddings and events jointly organised with the government.
The main exhibition will be held at the Wisma Education and Charity unit on Level 5, where visitors could get to appreciate the quarters, meditation hall, dining hall and repentance hall of Mahayana Buddhism.
The public could also gain knowledge on the daily necessities used by the Sangha (monastics) of Mahayana Buddhism at the hall on Level 3A.
At the ground floor of the old building, there will be an exhibition on the Life of Buddha as well as a display of Buddha statues.
Guides will be at hand to explain the exhibits to visitors on May 11, 18 and 19 for the public to gain better understanding of the religion and its practices.
Penang Wesak Day Celebration 2019 vice-chairman Venerable Kai Zun said the annual event had been organised by the association and endorsed by the state government since 2012.
"This celebration is a chance for the public to understand Buddhism and provide a platform for greater understanding, besides forging interaction among Buddhists and Buddhist organisations.
"The celebration is also aimed at empowering lives, enriching goals and charting directions for Buddhist devotees in their faith," he said.
Ven Jing Jie added that a variety of activities had been lined up, including the launching of the association's grand floral float, bathing of Buddha statues and a health screening session.
He said the opening ceremony, floral float launch and health screening would be held on May 11, where Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow will launch the Penang Wesak Day celebration at 9am at the old building.
The public could also take part in the bathing of Buddha statues on May 11 from 9am to 4pm, on May 18 from 9am to midnight and on May 19 from 9am to 7pm.
Buddhist Tzu Chi Merits Society Malaysia representative Khoo Boo Leong said the health screening would be conducted by six medical practitioners.
"The public are welcome to join the free healthy screening and awareness programme. Counselling sessions will also be provided," he said.
Free vegetarian lunch will be provided for all.
Also present was executive advisor for the event Datuk Steven Ooi, who urged Penangites especially Buddhist devotees, to visit the exhibitions and understand Buddhism on a deeper level. For more details, call 04-2262690 or email
Tags / Keywords: Northern Region , Penang Wesak Day celebration , Malaysia Buddhist Association , Wesak Day


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