Deep in the Atacama Desert of Chile, chemical company SQM pumps saline brine from underground reservoirs into hundreds of giant rectangular pools. As the brine slowly evaporates, the liquid turns into varying shades of green and blue resembling an artist’s palette.
A liquid called lithium chloride remains, which is shipped to refineries to produce lithium carbonate and hydroxide, vital materials for lithium-ion battery production.
In recent months, Chinese engineers and businessmen have visited the plants, hinting at China’s desire to secure supplies of lithium, a key component for the high-tech industry.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of lithium in the context of current battery technologies. Lithium-ion batteries are efficient and have low self-discharge. They’re the most popular type of rechargeable battery for home electronics, mobile phones, and electric cars.
A remote region in central South America, formed through millions of years of natural leaching from the Andes Mountains, holds one-fifth of the world’s known lithium reserves.
Chile has the world’s second-largest reserves of lithium after Bolivia. Chile has the infrastructure and logistics for lithium extraction that Bolivia currently lacks. Bolivia’s reserves reside on the eastern side of the Andes and mining companies would need to scale the Andes to reach the Pacific seaport, or trek across South America to the Atlantic coast.
A stake in Chile’s SQM—one of the leading producers of lithium, iodine, and potash—is now up for grabs through an indirect shareholder. Oro Blanco late last year invited buyers to bid for its ownership in Pampa Calichera, a Chile-based investment company. Calichera is a major investor in SQM.
China’s CITIC CLSA Capital Markets is said to have a major interest in purchasing Oro Blanco, which put itself up for sale after its owner and SQM chairman Julio Ponce, a son-in-law of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, was forced to resign after scandals, according to a Reuters report.
The groundwork seems to be in place for a potential acquisition by China. Last month, Chile Mining Minister Aurora Williams announced that the country would not block a foreign takeover of SQM.
The competition for SQM is part of a global run on lithium by the world’s largest battery producers and manufacturers of cars and electronics.
The price of 99 percent-pure lithium imported to China has increased 42 percent in the last six months, according to Asianmetal.com, a website that tracks import prices of commodities.
Similarly, the value of lithium and battery producers has increased over the same period. The price per share of Global X Funds Lithium ETF, which tracks the Solactive Global Lithium Index comprising companies engaged in lithium mining, exploration, and lithium-ion battery production, has increased 26 percent over the last three months.
The price of 99 percent-pure lithium imported to China has increased 42 percent in the last six months.
The reason for the increase in lithium prices is twofold.
In the short term, the recent spike in lithium spot price is largely due to a supply squeeze of lithium ore exported to China. The country currently imports much of its lithium extracted from spodumene—a gray translucent mineral with high lithium content—mined in Australia. A joint venture formed by U.S. miner Albemarle and its Chinese partner Tianqi plans to divert more spodumene to battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide production, according to an Economist report. That squeezes lithium ore supply and puts upward pressure on the spot market in China.
Long-term demand is also driving a recent surge in lithium prices, especially from electric vehicle companies. Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors prepares to start production at its battery “Gigafactory” in Nevada later this year. Tesla’s Gigafactory looks to supply lithium-ion batteries for 500,000 cars per year within five years. J.B. Straubel, Tesla’s chief technical officer, has been vocal about securing supplies of not just lithium but other battery materials as well.
Tesla is far from being the only consumer of lithium. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI), a commodities industry consulting firm, China will have twice as much lithium-ion battery production capacity as the United States by 2020.
Currently, nearly 70 percent of global demand for raw materials comes from China, as the country’s major lithium-ion battery manufacturers continue to expand their capacity with the aim of becoming the world’s lowest-cost producer.
BMI is tracking at least 12 lithium-ion megafacilities worldwide, with seven in China and two in the United States. Tesla Motors’ Gigafactory 1 in Nevada is the biggest so far, costing $5 billion and projected to reach 35GWh capacity by 2020.
According to BMI, investments in new lithium-ion battery capacity will exceed $12 billion by 2020.
The growing infatuation with lithium-ion batteries in electronics has a downside—they have the troubling potential to catch fire.


There have been in recent times, several reports of security personnel engaging in deviant behaviours that get us wandering if we are ever going to be safe.
Security men have been cited in incidents of armed robbery, maiming and cold-blooded murder. These are not normal behaviors. That persons who the state has provided weapons for to protect society, turn these weapons on the very society that pays them as well, should be of serious concern to all of us. Not even when they turn the guns on themselves. Not only is it a waste of the country's resources; every single life lost is one life too many for this country.
The tragic incident that occurred close to the Castle, where an officer who was to secure the seat of the Presidency, turned his gun on civilians, before committing suicide must get us doing some serious thinking.
The questionable acts that some of our men and women in uniform involve themselves in, raise questions as to how we recruit these persons. For persons who we would entrust our very lives and safety with, there is the need to have established their psychological state.
Resilience is a very important asset that every security person must necessarily possess. Even though there is no art to tell the mind's construction in the face, as Shakespeare tells us, we are fortunate to have psychological tests that can determine one's state, and the potential to withstand or crumble under stress or provocation.
The line between sanity and insanity is so thin that most of us at one time or the other cross over to the other side. However, it is the frequency at which we do this and the intensity or duration of it, that indicates whether we need help or not.
In some jurisdictions, it is ensured that persons who belong to an elite force, undergo specialized examination and training in order to guarantee that guns are not handed over to persons with a high potential to rob, maim or kill. Such persons are at times even set apart from the rest of society, to insulate them from the pressures and stress the wider society faces.
We have been told about the existence of a special VIP protection unit within the security service. We are aware that the Castle is a VIP location, and therefore assume that personnel there would belong to this specialized unit of the service. How sad it would be if they are not.
Incidents like what happened near the Castle only remind us of things we have left undone. In the light of the growing incidents of these deviant behaviors that characterize the conduct of some of our security personnel, there is the need for us, as a nation, to demand that these men and women undergo psychological appraisals, not only at the time of their recruitments, but also periodically.
Of course, this is not to intimate that the diagnosis of any such traits in even its slightest state must precipitate the flushing out of such persons. We must admit we live in a society which is full of stress due to the general social and economic conditions.
Therefore a certain level of agitation may surely be tolerable. The need for the screening is important so as to identify those who would need help, for the necessary assistance to be given them.
Most importantly the psychological screening would help identify those with psychopathic traits so we do not use our hard-earned foreign currency to buy weapons for our protection only to hand over to future killers. Guns don't kill, it is human beings who do.


Cantor Colburn LLP has expanded its Life Sciences Practice Group with the addition of Nicholas Herrel, PhD, of Durham, as an associate in the firm’s Hartford headquarters office.
Herrel concentrates his practice in domestic and foreign patent preparation, prosecution and counseling in the life science and chemical arts.
He regularly prepares freedom-to-operate and patentability searches, analysis and opinions, as well as drafts patent applications and prosecutes domestic and foreign patent applications.
Prior to his outside counsel experience, Herrel was a Patent Counsel at General Electric.
Herrel joins the firm from Locke Lord LLP.
The Life Sciences Practice Group at Cantor Colburn brings together professionals experienced in the unique requirements of the life sciences research and biotechnology industries.
Most of the group's professionals have doctorate degrees or experience in relevant fields such as organic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology and microbiology.


Two children died and four other people were injured in a two-vehicle crash that occurred Sunday afternoon west of Leola.
Names of the six people involved are not being released pending notification of family members, the Highway Patrol said in a news release.
A 2001 Buick Park Avenue was eastbound on South Dakota Highway 10 when the vehicle left the roadway and entered the south ditch. The driver overcorrected back onto the roadway where the vehicle collided with a westbound 2004 Cadillac Deville.
Two children in the Buick, a 4-year-old female and a 2-year-old male, died at the scene. Both were wearing seatbelts, the Highway Patrol said.
The two other occupants in the Buick, both females, suffered life-threatening injuries. The 28-year-old driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle. She was taken to an Aberdeen hospital and later airlifted to a Fargo, N.D., hospital. A 7-year-old female passenger, who was wearing a seatbelt, was taken to an Aberdeen hospital.
Both occupants in the Cadillac were wearing seatbelts and were taken to an Aberdeen hospital. The 83-year-old female driver suffered minor injuries while the 83-year-old male passenger sustained serious, non-life threatening injuries.


Council Post: Can Advertisers Balance Scale And Quality?
Can Advertisers Balance Scale And Quality?
Founder and CEO of Taykey, a real-time audience data company.
In the wake of several high-profile cases of large advertisers appearing next to terrorist videos, the issues of inventory quality and safety are once again top of mind for the advertising industry. We’re seeing a renewed flight to manually vetted solutions such as private ad exchanges, predefined publisher whitelists and traditional direct media deals where marketers run exclusively on hand-selected publishers.
Unfortunately, advertisers also pay the price in the form of reduced scale, efficiency, and the ability to reach and engage their consumers most effectively. While the appeal of these manual approaches is understandable, their trade-offs are often unnecessary based on the advertiser’s objectives. Increasingly, whitelisting and private exchanges are being used as a crutch for bad data and inaccurate targeting rather than a proactive strategy.
The primary challenge is consumer behavior itself. More than 30% of web traffic is driven by social media. Millennials check their phones more than 150 times per day, jumping from social platforms to articles to videos. Most of this phone time is “life in the feed,” where discovery reigns supreme and social conversation is driving consumption. As a result, the new prime time looks less like "M*A*S*H*" and more like Joseph Garrett (aka Stampy), who makes humorous Minecraft videos in his basement in the U.K. and has amassed more than 8.4 million global followers.
But that isn’t typically how content targeting is approached when humans take the wheel. It’s driven by broad category-level approaches and the gut instinct of the buyer rather than real-time consumer insight. Still, every advertiser has a right not to run next to ISIS videos. But most things aren’t ISIS. They’re Bill O’Reilly, Kendall Jenner and PewDiePie -- safe territory that has suddenly become toxic -- and manual targeting approaches will leave you chasing your tail here, too.
Luckily, with the right tools, the massive and growing volume of conversation data across social platforms and websites can be mined via natural language processing (NLP) to tell advertisers exactly what content consumers do care about in the moment, repeatedly and at massive scale. Speaking of Kendall Jenner and Bill O'Reilly, the same NLP technology would have automatically flagged these topics as controversial (based on sentiment detection) and instructed automated buying systems to avoid them as soon as the controversies erupted. The right tech can actually turn the challenge of consumer fragmentation into an opportunity, by leveraging the growing volume of social conversation to map consumer interests and align targeting accordingly.
In fact, we recently developed a product offering that connects NLP directly to real-time media buying decisions. We've seen this capability become increasingly valuable as audience attention continues to become more dynamic and unpredictable. For example, a men's magazine recently did an exclusive interview with Brad Pitt that went viral with women 25-49. Even though advertisers were not initially aligned with the content, the system used context and conversation patterns to understand the who, what, and why and shift media dollars in real time.
Accurate real-time alignment with relevant topics can be an effective way to proactively address both quality and safety concerns without locking down scale and flexibility. After all, do we believe that soccer moms were consuming ISIS videos, or were those consumer-packaged-goods ads just poorly targeted in the first place? If soccer moms were talking about these videos, it’s highly likely that the sentiment wouldn’t be positive.
That said, automatic blacklisting of problematic keywords and categories (e.g., terrorism) is a sensible safety layer that's worthy of investment. But completely reverting back to manual buying techniques does more than hurt scale and efficiency. It runs counter to the realities of consumer content consumption and will eventually leave marketers unable to achieve prime-time level scale and engagement online.


East Coweta, Newnan and Northgate high schools are among Georgia’s Advanced Placement Honor Schools for 2019.
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are college-level courses offered by specially trained high school teachers in a regular high school setting. In May of each year, students take AP exams – administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT – with a maximum score of 5.
Those who score 3, 4 or 5 level may be able to earn college credit for these courses taken during high school. State School Superintendent Richard Brooks recently announced the list of 2019 Georgia AP Honor Schools, which recognized 230 of Georgia’s 525 public high schools for student achievement on the May 2018 exams.
“I congratulate the educators and leaders who worked to create strong AP programs in these 230 Georgia schools, ultimately connecting students with high-level coursework and the opportunity to gain college credit,” Woods said.
Northgate was among just 71 schools recognized as AP Merit Schools. Merit status is awarded to schools where at least 20 percent of the total student population sits for AP exams, and at least 50 percent of all AP test-takers earn scores of 3 or higher.
The state’s AP Humanities, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and STEM Achievement honors lists also included Northgate, along with East Coweta and Newnan high schools.
Each of the 142 AP Humanities Honor Schools had students testing in at least one English course, two history/social science courses, one fine arts course and one world language course. Each of the 200 AP STEM Honor Schools had students testing in at least two math and two science courses.
Georgia’s 128 STEM Achievement Honor Schools had at least 40 percent of their test-takers scoring 3 or higher on their exams, which included at least two math and two science courses from the following list: AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles.
According to data released by the College Board recently, Georgia’s public-school class of 2018 has the 16th-highest Advanced Placement pass rate in the nation.
In Georgia, 23.2 percent of public school students in the class of 2018 earned a 3 or higher on an AP exam – compared to 23 percent of the class of 2017, and 22.4 percent of the class of 2016. Overall, 41.3 percent of Georgia’s public-school class of 2018 took an AP exam while in high school. This is the 13th-highest AP participation rate in the nation.
Of Georgia’s 2018 test-takers, 31.1 percent used an AP exam fee reduction, which states look to as a marker of equitable participation for low-income students. Eligibility for this fee reduction is based on the eligibility threshold for free and reduced-price lunch. Nationally, 30.8 percent of AP test-takers of the class of 2018 used an exam fee reduction.
“I’m incredibly proud of Georgia’s public-school teachers and students, who are showing the nation what we’ve long known: Georgia is a state that’s on the move in education,” Woods said. “When I look at these numbers, I’m pleased to see them increasing but more than that, I’m pleased when I think about the thousands of individual student stories these numbers represent.


A 22-year-old woman killed in a car crash on the A12 was the front-seat passenger in a car involved in the accident, an inquest has heard.
Charlotte Oakes, from Westleton, was travelling in a blue Peugeot 206 that lost control and was involved in a collision with a black Isuzu D-Max on the A12 in Frostenden.
Miss Oakes was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened at around 6pm on Wednesday, October 18. The driver of the Peugeot was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for treatment.
The man behind the wheel of the Isuzu suffered minor cuts and bruises in the crash.
In the aftermath of the crash, tributes poured in over social media.


DALLAS — It's the case for a lot of people: the older we get, the weaker we become.
"The average 50-year old loses about one to two percent of muscle mass in their legs yearly," said David Foreman, R.Ph, aka The Herbal Pharmacist.
Age-related muscle decline is called sarcopenia. "You can truly reverse sarcopenia if you do the right things," Foreman said.
First, Foreman suggests pumping up your healthy proteins which could include chicken, fish and plant-based proteins. He said the average person who weighs 150 pounds should consume 120 grams of protein per day. A lack of protein, Foreman said, makes it more difficult to produce muscle mass.
"I now have little snack packs of peanuts and almonds and chickpeas and edamame," Foreman said of his own choices when it comes to packing for travel days.
Next, Foreman recommends essential amino acids, which our bodies can't make on their own.
"We’re trying to rejuvenate our muscles," Foreman explained. "We’re trying to help the body produce more muscle mass... to take that protein that’s in your diet and force it to make muscle as opposed to something else."
Finally, Foreman urges everyone to add resistance exercises to your regular workout routine. "You don’t necessarily need to go to a gym," Foreman said. "You don’t necessarily need to buy weights."
Try resistance bands or push-up handles at home, or you can go totally equipment-free and just do squats and lunges.
"All three of those [tips] combined can really help change your body composition," Foreman said.
And, no excuses. There isn't a "point of no return." No matter your age or ability, it's never too late to start building muscle.


This April 4, 2019 photo shows filmmaker Claire Denis, left, and actor Robert Pattinson posing for a portrait to promote their film, "High Life" in New York.
NEW YORK (AP) — Claire Denis was guiding Robert Pattinson through a black hole.
As willing as Pattinson has been to be stretched and contorted by some of the most adventurous directors in film, "High Life" — a cosmic conundrum pulsing with bodily fluids and the infinitude of loneliness — is a new frontier for him. The same could be said for Denis, the enigmatic and revered filmmaker of "Chocolat" and "Beau Travail," who is making her English-language debut in "High Life."
Pattinson, 32, tends to elicit grins from Denis, 72, when he speaks of his youth like a distant past. After the actor says he was happy it took years to make "High Life" — "I was quite young when we first met. I think I was like 28" — Denis replies, "Yeah, you look so old now."


It's hard out there for a lone Seahawks fan at a Packers-Cardinals game. It's late in the NFC playoff game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale on Saturday, where for some reason Cardinals fans don't take a liking to this one Seahawks fan and begin beating on him and placing him in headlocks.
It's hard to say what started this rumble, but it's the Seahawks fan who gets arrested and hauled off, despite the cameraman declaring that "I got it all on footage! He's the victim!"
The Seahawks fan then worries about his hat as he's being taken away. "It's a Seattle hat! It's important to me!"
And the cameraman is asked by security to come up to the office so that they can view the tape. This seems to be the proudest moment in the cameraman's life, judging by his commentary as he films himself leaving.
But the joke was on him. Just moments after he left his seat, Aaron Rodgers threw the Hail Mary pass that sent the game to overtime.
Police reported that there was no arrest involving the incident, so all ended well, if a little bruisy. No word on the hat. There were, however, 65 other ejections during the game.


June 15 (UPI) -- In a nearly unanimous vote, the U.S. Senate on Thursday approved new sanctions against Iran and Russia that also limit President Donald Trump's administration from weakening existing sanctions against Moscow.
In a 98-2 vote, the Senate approved tougher measures against Iran's ballistic missile program, due to the country's support for terrorist groups and its record on human rights.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the author of the bill, told reporters he hoped President Donald Trump would "acknowledge" the near-unanimous support among senators for tougher actions against Iran and Russia.
The measure also included language toughening sanctions against Russia in the wake of their accused efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, converting some of the penalties put in place by former President Barack Obama's administration into law, and forbidding Trump from weakening existing Russia sanctions without first seeking Senate approval.
Senators said the tougher tack against Russia would help force them to ease hostilities against Ukraine, permit a negotiated settlement in the Syrian civil war and dissuade them from attempting to hack U.S. institutions and political groups in the future, as it's widely believed they did during the campaign last year.
"Americans are concerned about Russia's behavior in the Ukraine and Syria and they are concerned about Russia's increased cyber-intrusions," Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told NPR. "Many of us on both sides of the aisle feel the U.S. needs to be much stronger in its response to Russia."
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in testimony on Capitol Hill this week said the Trump administration needs "flexibility" in its negotiations with the Russians and codifying sanctions takes away potential bargaining chips in those talks.
"Essentially, we would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue," Tillerson said.
Specifically, the legislation prohibits the U.S. State Department from returning two Russian diplomatic compounds seized by the Obama administration in response to Russia's election hacking.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are debating parallel legislation, though it is unclear whether it would be met with the same bipartisan support as it did in the Senate, which would be required in order to survive a potential veto.


Perhaps when the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., is inundated by the rising waters of the Atlantic Ocean, he might come to his senses about the realities behind global climate change and understand that his reliance on fake science has put more than his golfing and banquet buddies at risk.
The real scientists, not the fossil fuel industry shills, have been proven correct.
Rising atmospheric and sea temperatures brought about by the incessant production of environmentally destructive, heat-trapping greenhouse gases have ensured that what were called “500-year storms” are now happening every couple of years.
Hurricane Harvey saw areas of Texas never prone to flooding deluged with up to 50 inches of rain. Interstate highways were turned into raging rivers. The second floors of many homes and apartment buildings were reached by flood waters.
But the epochal flooding of Houston and several other areas of Texas do not represent a one-off event.
As Texas counted the dead and tallied up the billions of dollars in damage caused by Harvey, South Asia saw 1,200 deaths and millions of people made homeless by unusually powerful monsoon rains that left cities in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan under water.
In July, unprecedented rains flooded subway stations and turned streets into lakes in Istanbul, one of Europe’s most populous cities.
There’s no doubt about it: With drastic climate change, the world is experiencing historic storms more often.
Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans and southern Louisiana in 2005 what Harvey did to Houston and surrounding environs this year - an entire metropolitan area was affected, and the impact will be long-lasting.
Hurricane Rita, which followed Katrina in 2005, served as a stark wake-up call for Houston, which was well-prepared for the wind event but could have never foreseen the floods wrought by Harvey.
Superstorm Sandy in 2012 put New York City on notice that it was not immune to the effects of climate change. Flooded subways and major Internet switching centers in Manhattan were a reality and not fodder for disaster movies.
The Carolinas were continuing to rebuild from 2016’s Hurricane Matthew unprecedented flooding when Harvey struck Texas.
Demands for assistance from such federal entities as the National Flood Insurance Program reached new levels and put new stresses on the already in-debt flood relief fund.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has counted an average of 15 named Atlantic storms each year from 1995 to 2012, an increase from years past. The frequency of the storms was directly attributed to warming oceans resulting from our warming atmosphere.
The simultaneous collapsing of ice formations in Antarctica and the Arctic will have irreversible effects on coastal flooding, sea currents and the abundance of marine life.
The collapse of marine ecosystems is already having disastrous results for species up and down the marine food chain. Eventually, the top of that food chain, humankind, will suffer from oceans devoid of sustaining food resources.
With Miami streets now flooding during non-storm-related tides, a Harvey-like storm striking Miami would leave permanent changes to the shorelines.
Wayne Madsen is a progressive writer whose columns have appeared in leading newspapers around the world.


Three, never march on Moscow.
So why are the U.S., the European Union (EU), and NATO on the road to the Russian capital? And exactly what are they hoping to accomplish?
For beginners, there are multiple armies marching eastward, and they are not exactly on the same page. In military parlance that is called divided command, and it generally ends in debacle. In addition, a lot of their weapons are of doubtful quality and might even end up backfiring. And lastly, like all great crises, there is a sticker price on this one that is liable to give even fire breathers pause.
There are actual armies involved. NATO has deployed troops, aircraft and naval forces in the region, and the Russians parked 40,000 troops on Ukraine's eastern border. But with the exception of the horrendous deaths of over 40 demonstrators in Odessa, the crisis has been a remarkably calm affair. The Russians took over the Crimea virtually without a shot, and while there is a worrisome increase of violent incidents in the south and east, they are hardly up to the French and German invasions in 1812 and 1941, respectively.
Which doesn't mean things couldn't turn dangerous, a reason why it is important to know the agendas of the players involved.


With the Super Bowl behind us, it’s time to look ahead to the NFL Draft.
The Cardinals are in an extreme rebuild phase. Bosa is an elite-level talent and projects to be a perennial All-Pro from the defensive end projection. Arizona selects the best player available in the draft.
The Bednarik Award winner (nation’s top defensive player) would give the 49ers a promising pass rush when matched with 2018 No. 3 overall pick Solomon Thomas. Allen could be the X-factor their defense needs to help them push for a playoff berth next year.
I believe the Jaguars will jump the Giants and go for their quarterback of the future. Haskins led the nation in passing yards and touchdowns while leading the Buckeyes to a Big Ten Championship in 2018. Blake Bortles has been a dud in Jacksonville, so maybe the playmaker out of Ohio State can revitalize their failing offense.
The Raiders surrendered two of their best players last year for first-round draft selections. That means they need to find the best talent, regardless of position, to begin filling the many holes on their roster. Quinnen Williams was Alabama’s best overall player last season. He was almost unblockable at the college level — will professionals be able to stop him?
PICK: GREEDY WILLIAMS, CB, LSU, RS-SOPH.
The Buccaneers need to find a solution in their secondary. Williams would give them a lockdown, rangy cornerback that can take away the opponent’s top receiver.
Lock turned heads at the Senior Bowl with an impressive performance. He displayed composure and confidence in a way that the Giants haven’t had pre-2012. He was the highest rated quarterback at the beginning of the season. Do the Giants see him the same way?
The Jets ranked 25th in total defense and 29th in points allowed last season. They need to find answers at the linebacker position, and White is the best available. He is a converted running back that evolved into a hyper-athletic interior linebacker. He will make big plays at the NFL level.
Ferrell was the best pass rusher on the dominant Clemson defensive line that some call the best in college football history. The Lions may lose their best pass rusher to free agency and don’t have an answer otherwise. Ferrell can give them a strong anchor for years to come.
Bills longtime defensive lineman Kyle Williams retired at the end of the season. Michigan’s Rashan Gary is an athletic interior lineman that can create pressure on the quarterback. This selection would give them elite-level potential at each level of their defense.
The Broncos thought Case Keenum would solve their quarterback problem, but the veteran could not get the job done. Murray is the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner and one of the most athletic quarterback prospects of all time. Murray’s size (5-10, 180) may be an issue, but he has a cannon for an arm and could give life to a dull Broncos offense.
Williams started on the Alabama offensive line as a true freshman. That should not go unnoticed. The Bengals lost star left tackle Andrew Whitworth to free agency prior to the 2018 season, which means Williams would slide right into the left tackle slot for the Bengals.
The Packers have an aging pass rush and need to find some young talent to revitalize the defense. Sweat has ideal size (6-6, 270) and athleticism to be a dominant pass rusher. The Packers could use someone racking up double-digit sacks year after year.
Oliver was ranked as the top college prospect at the start of the 2018 season. An on-field altercation with a coach and character questions have hurt his draft stock a bit, but he’s still a dominant player. The Dolphins need to stop the run, and Oliver is a powerful, quick interior lineman that makes a ton of tackles for loss.
The Legion of Boom is now defunct with star safety Earl Thomas on his way out. The Seahawks jump the Redskins for the top-ranked safety in the draft.
The Redskins miss out on Alabama’s Williams and Thompson, so they go with the next best lineman in the draft. Ford has experience playing multiple positions along the offensive line, and the Redskins could use someone with experience after a disastrous ending to the 2018 season.
Little’s physical tools are elite and he’s been a top-rated prospect since he was a freshman in high school. He hasn’t developed into the elite status people expected but still is an outstanding player. The Panthers take a shot on a potential All-Pro left tackle.
Simmons falls all the way to the Browns just because of the sheer talent at the defensive line position in this draft class. The Browns need solid defensive tackles in their 4-3 defense. Simmons would give them a rising star at the defensive tackle position to pair with Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett.
The Vikings appeared to have put together a fantastic defense last season, but they struggled to stop the run. Wilkins is a three-time All-American and a two-time National Champion and would give the Vikes’ D-line a big boost.
Washington has produced several defensive backs who went on to have successful NFL careers. Murphy looks reminiscent of former Husky and All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters. Murphy is a hyper-athletic defender who stays attached in man coverage and shows veteran knowledge of zone schemes.
Polite is a strong pass rusher that could pair well with Steelers’ T.J. Watt. The Steelers have a strong defense, but could stand to create pressure from both sides of the ball. Polite would give the Steelers a solid option.
The Falcons were depleted by injuries throughout last season, but still need a solid No. 2 at the cornerback position. Baker has been a highly touted prospect since his first season at Georgia. He would give them an athletic corner that is solid in man coverage.
The Ravens thought that the addition of WR John Brown would help the offense in making big plays. That did not happen. The Ravens made the playoffs off of a strong rookie performance from standout QB Lamar Jackson. Harry (6-4, 216) would give Jackson a big, talented receiver who can go up over defenders in the red zone and create big plays after the catch.
The Texans have had issues for a long time on the offensive line. Taylor has tremendous size and slides his feet well. He isn’t the top lineman prospect but has enough ability to make Houston consider him in this spot.
Brown (6-1, 225) is a stocky, but explosive outside threat who had two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in a strong SEC conference. He has strong hands and breaks tackles after the catch. The Raiders lost Amari Cooper to the Cowboys but luck out with a tremendous talent at the bottom part of the draft.
Adderley (6-0, 200) comes from prestigious bloodlines (his distant uncle Herb Adderley is in the NFL Hall of Fame). The Delaware-product had an interception in the Senior Bowl and has been one of the best players at the FCS-level for a couple years. These two factors have led to his first-round grading by NFL scouts.
The Philadelphia-native has NFL athleticism and a high football IQ. He hits with more of a thump than his size would show and can play multiple positions in the secondary. This bodes well for the Eagles, whose secondary was decimated by injuries. Adderley could help give the Eagles a lasting answer at the safety or corner position.
Metcalf received higher grades than his teammate, A.J. Brown, at the beginning of the season, but suffered a season-ending neck injury. Chargers receiver Mike Williams suffered a similar injury and bounced back strong. Metcalf would give the Colts a big-bodied talent at the flanker position, complementing the short, quick T.Y. Hilton.
Bush was Michigan’s top tackler and was the Big Ten’s most dominant defender. The Raiders have almost zero experience and depth at the linebacker position, and the former Wolverine would fit in at any spot.
The Chargers have not had a consistently strong linebacker since the days of Shaun Phillips. Wilson has been a freak for Alabama, making huge hits and flashing tremendous talent. The Chargers should use their low draft pick to give the mighty Wilson a shot.
Mullen was the National Champions’ best cover cornerback, highlighted by his clutch interception in the CFP semifinal. The Chiefs traded away Marcus Peters last season and need to find his replacement. Mullen would give them a solid No. 2 cornerback right away, with potential to become their No. 1 in a short time period.
The Packers need to keep their quarterback safe and create more holes along the line. Deiter has tremendous size and can play anywhere on the interior of the line. It would serve Green Bay well to select a player as consistently dominant as the All-American lineman.
Rapp is a hybrid safety trying to cut a role similar to big hitters like Atlanta’s Keanu Neal. He hits hard and plays well alone the line of scrimmage. If the Rams decide to bolster their secondary, Rapp would be a good choice.
Will Rob Gronkowski return or retire? Either way, the Patriots rely on their tight ends, and Fant (6-5, 241) is a long and athletic TE that still needs work in his blocking but could give them an immediate answer in the receiving game.


It's well known that Salman Ahmad reserves a special place in his heart for PTI chief Imran Khan, but during election season this Junooni's jazba seems to be in overdrive.
For proof we can turn to his Twitter account, through which he provides up to date commentary on the elections.
Last pic was awesome. Salman rock on. PTI will win.
Poor Salman, seeking greatness via Twitter!


Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch pan. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, coffee, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat two minutes (batter will be thin). Pour into pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Nutritional information per serving: 256 calories (38 percent from fat), 11 g fat (2 g saturated, 3 g monounsaturated), 37 mg cholesterol, 5 g protein, 35 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 468 mg sodium.


The Detroit rapper's show over the weekend was memorable, to say the least.
(AllHipHop News) A show featuring Detroit rapper Sada Baby was a little too turnt up over the weekend.
The police are looking for the gunmen who shot up the rising rapper's show in Charleston, West Virginia on Saturday night.
The cops say Sada's show was good until hundreds of people joined the rapper on stage during his show at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Soon after the crowd rushed the stage, chaos broke out and shots were fired.
Luckily, no injuries were reported and police are still looking for the shooters who popped off a few rounds.


As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees more than 25 full-time editorial employees delivering definitive reviews, enlightening buying guides, and incisive analysis. His decade-long career at the company has seen him writing, editing, managing, hosting videos, guiding conference tours, moderating panels, and presenting Tech Talks to companies including Microsoft and GM. He never met a headline he couldn’t tighten up. Offline, you can find Nick hiking, biking, riding motorcycles, woodworking, or puttering down forest roads in the 4x4 camping van he imported from Japan. He grew up in Rochester, NY, holds a degree in Magazine Journalism from Syracuse University, and still drinks Genesee beer.
You may not be able to attend CES in Las Vegas, but we’re bringing all of the best booths to you. From LG’s wall of OLED TVs to a full-scale flying taxi, these are spectacles we won’t forget.
Why drive when you can ride? At CES 2019, car companies are showing off an array of self-driving shuttles, cars, and vans that promise to ferry passengers from Point A to Point B while they kick back and relax in comfort.
Furrion's Rova uses lithium-ion batteries and a compressor to keep beverages cold for up to a week with no ice, meaning you can skip the 7-11 run and cut straight to camping. It also charges gadgets and looks straight out of a Halo game.
Screens are taking over our homes. But Mui, an upstart from Japan, has a clever new way to show data in a way that’s less distracting, less obnoxious, and perhaps most importantly, a lot less ugly. And it looks like … a block of wood.
Within just a year, electric scooters have fundamentally changed how we navigate cities. From San Francisco to Paris, commuters have a new option that’s more fun than mass transit, easier than a bike, and definitely not a car.


Huh? Last time I came through these doors this was a Chinese place, the Silver Sea. Now it’s Hawaiian. Very Hawaiian. Bright yellow and sea-green walls, canoe paddles, three toothy, life-size tikis, and that bright red, blue, and white-striped Hawaiian state flag. One wall section’s even covered with Kona coffee gunnysacks. And wow, two big flat screens show extreme surfing on Oahu’s North Shore. Forty-foot waves. Tiny stick men skiing down collapsing blue water mountains.
But I see some other real tempters on the menu, like eight deep-fried coconut shrimp with sweet chili sauce, for $8.95; a mandarin orange salad for $8.25; and a “killer kalua” pork sandwich, with “a generous portion of succulent roasted pork piled high on our jumbo roll and smothered with BBQ sauce,” for $7.65. They also have grilled chicken ($7.65), kalbi (beef short-ribs, $10.25), and “Big Kahuna’s Rice Bowl” ($7.25).
I notice this plastic box on the counter with a giant bun inside. “Is that what I think it is?” I ask Jody. I’m thinking, Big Kahuna Burger bun? It has to be twice as big as your average burger bun. It looks like a kid’s baseball mitt.
“You were in Pulp Fiction?” I say.
I learn that Gordon Fatta, the grandfather of this place’s owner, Paul, started the first Big Kahuna, in Oahu, back in 1992. Paul moved to the mainland, opened a place up north in Elk Grove, then a second location in P.B., and now he’s here in I.B.
So, hey, if it’s good enough for Samuel L. Jackson… I order the Big Kahuna burger, and the heck with it, a kalua pork and cabbage and sticky rice and macaroni salad to go. See what Carla makes of it. Also a can of Hawaiian Guava Nectar ($1.75).
Jody brings my Big Kahuna burger, and Lawdie, it’s, well, large. No extras, like fries or potato salad. They have sliced it into two halves. Good idea. Even half of this moby bun is a handful. I lift it out and look at the guts. It’s fairly standard, the half-pound patty, the melted cheeses on top, red onions and tomato slices below — except underneath that is this bed of shredded cabbage instead of lettuce.
Great move. The light sweetness of the Hawaiian-style bun, the crisp-skinned, juicy savoriness of the patty, and the cheese and cabbage all balance out. Somehow, I manage to get through both halves. Partly, it’s the bun. It’s big but light. And the warm, syrupy guava juice helps slide it down. Next time, if I have the bread, I’ll get one of their $4.50 pints of draft Hawaiian beers. Fire Rock and Longboard.
When Jody brings Carla’s kalua pork and cabbage, I have to grab a little sample, full as I am. It’s basically salted pork with cooked cabbage mixed in. And guess what? Delicious. Here, gotta say, you actually think of Hawaii. I mean, so much “Hawaiian” food, like Spam, macaroni, teriyaki, is imported from other places. This pork meat, done in the imu style (cooked underground), makes you think, yeah, this is Hawaii, pre-missionary, pre–sugar barons, pre-tourists. I drink to that thought with the last of my guava juice.
Then I have another thought: come back too often, and I’m gonna end up a very big Kahuna.
July 8, 2009 @ 4:47 p.m.


Two men have been lucky to escape the wrath of nature in Australia, by narrowly avoiding a lightning strike.
Filming a storm in Sydney's Oyster Bay on Saturday from a boat shed, Daniel Dudman and his friend Nick Panayiotou captured the moment lightning struck right in front of them.
By the reaction of the two friends, it was a little close for comfort — and the video shows why you should not hang out in boat sheds during crazy storms.


Dever gave the board until 4 p.m. Monday to respond.
(4) Use the illustrative seven single-member district redistricting plan and the two single-member super district redistricting plan that the legislative leaders submitted on August 3, 2016.
On July 1, a three-judge panel found that the redistricting in 2013 and 2015 gave an unfair advantage to voters in suburban districts and should not be used. The maps violated equal representation, or “one person, one vote” principles in the U.S. Constitution, the panel said. The federal panel ordered Dever to prohibit use of the new maps in the November elections but didn’t tell him what to use instead.


Social media giant Facebook has purchased a facial analysis software firm linked to Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University.
Two police officers were shot early on Thursday in southwestern Pennsylvania where police were searching for the shooter, local media reported.
The Arab world lost one of its most important, and prolific, senior artists Saturday.


Trans-Europe Express – Is there anybody down there?
Hello Portugal? Italy? Spain? Bulgaria? Croatia? Romania? Slovenia? Greece? Or even... France? Does anyone down there even care about European politics?
“Where is the French right going?” LR deputy Maël de Calan asks in the book "The populist temptation", released on 30 August. Inside French right-wing party Les Republicains, the stance of its leader raises questions and doubts.
A strange and boring lunch, hosted by Antonio Tajani, took place on the 7th floor of the European Parliament on Tuesday (17 April), when Emmanuel Macron came to Strasbourg to charm MEPs with his visions of Europe.
Abuse of power is as old as humanity itself: denying the others’ rights helped Homo Sapiens push aside the Neanderthals.


Gatineau police have suspended a cop in a high-level management position after being tipped off that he’s the subject of a criminal investigation in another town.
OTTAWA — Gatineau police have suspended a cop in a high-level management position after being tipped off that he’s the subject of a criminal investigation in another town.
Police said they were notified of the officer’s alleged criminal behaviour by the Department of Public Safety in Trois-Rivières, Que. Police said the incident was isolated and would have occurred in Trois-Rivières while the officer was off duty.
In addition to the criminal investigation, Gatineau police will be conducting their own professional standards and internal affairs administrative inquiry.
Though police say he has been suspended, Gatineau police will not name the officer, nor will they detail the nature of the allegations against him.


Kiss you winter skin troubles goodbye, understand your skin better and learn how to maintain it the Vegan Way.
Shikhee Agrawal, Head Training at The Body Shop India and Bhavya Chawla, Chief Stylist, Voonik list down some benefits of opting for vegan rich skin regime.
Skin friendly: Vegan-friendly skincare products are made from plants, minerals, and some safe synthetic ingredients. It provides more nourishment to the skin with natural goodness.
Controls acne: Natural ingredients such as seaweed, tea tree oil, vitamin E, aloe vera, chamomile, and vitamin C, adds energizing abstract to these vegan products. Chamomile purifies the skin and gives a silky soft feel to the skin thus very suitable for sensitive skin.
Aloe-vera has a soothing and calming sensation and is known for its skin benefits from ancient times. Seaweed is popular for removing excess oil and impurities, thus helps in treating acne. Tea tree targets the imperfections of the body thus it is best suitable for blemished skin. The vegan beauty products usually use these ingredients to form cruelty-free and 100 percent vegan beauty products.
Thick and long hair is all possible with vegan products: Natural extracts such as green tea in shampoo, hair scrubs, and conditioner helps in removing impurities and clearing the scalp, thus result in longer and stronger hair. With 100 percent vegetarian and formulated without colorants and silicones, it refreshes the hair and scalp and acts as a natural conditioner to your hair. The use of banana and ginger ingredients in vegan products also helps in shiny and thick hair.
Vegan diet: Besides what you put on your skin, eating a healthy, plant-based diet is equally important for blemish-free, radiant skin. For age-defying and keeping your skin firm, local green vegetables like spinach, fenugreek leaves are an absolute must. You should gorge on bright, vibrant fruits such as strawberries, kiwi, and oranges, without feeling any guilt. These are full of Vitamin C, which is essential for soft, supple skin.
Safe from harmful chemicals: These vegan products are safe for skin and hair. Choosing only vegan products will save you from harmful chemicals and cruel cosmetics.
Bedtime is the perfect instance to take good care of our skin and hair to rejuvenate them from the harm caused by the pollution. The right type of sleepwear we wear and some hair care treatments before bedtime are of utmost importance.
Wearing a moisturizer with a broad spectrum sunscreen on a daily basis is the easiest way to help prevent skin sagging.
Earlier sunscreens are thought to be toxic to the skin. The recent research has proved that the nano particles present in sunscreens do not penetrate and causes no toxicity after repeated application.
Improving skin health could be of major importance for the control of blood sugar and lowering type 2 diabetes risk.


The JP Big Band are holding a one-off charity concert to help raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust on Saturday, July 29, at the Steyning Centre, Fletchers Croft, Steyning.
The evening, hosted by Jim Prior and his three singers – David Browne, Rebecca Askew and Bryony Prior – will start at 7.30pm.
Band leader and organiser Jim has a personal connection with Cystic Fibrosis and wanted to combine his love of music with raising funds and awareness for research for the thousands who suffer from this life-threatening disease, he explained.
Jim is promising a raffle with generous donations from local residents and businesses, all of which will be run and supported by The Rotary club of Steyning and Henfield, The Steyning Music Society and The Steyning Jazz Club.
Tickets for the evening cost £12 and are available from the Steyning Bookshop on 01903 812062 or from the fundraising page.
Visit Click here to find out more or visit www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk.


FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) said on Wednesday it had hired an executive from Apple (AAPL.O) as a director responsible for technical development at its commercial vehicles division.
Alexander Hitzinger, 47, will also take group-wide responsibility for VW’s efforts to develop self-driving vehicles as well as offer “Mobility as a Service”, an initiative that seeks to keep drivers behind the wheel of its cars even if they do not own them.
Hitzinger had been working on Apple’s electric car project, having earlier worked at Porsche, VW’s sports car division. Prior to that, the German-born engineer worked in Formula 1 racing at Red Bull Technology.


Town board members repealed a law Tuesday that they say is antiquated and was written at a time when "attitudes were different."
Hempstead Town Board members on Tuesday voted unanimously to repeal an antiquated town code that restricted public breastfeeding.
The repeal came about two months after Levittown resident Colleen Morgan expressed concerns to town officials about breastfeeding restrictions at town pools.
“We should allow mothers to breastfeed their infants wherever they see fit when they’re using town facilities,” Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen said Tuesday.
Morgan, 33, on Tuesday praised the repeal.
“It’s great they’re finally with the times and did the right thing,” she said.
Also on Tuesday, the board cast dissenting votes on proposed personnel changes in the town communications department. Four Republican councilmembers and senior Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, a Democrat, voted against both the promotion of Mike Fricchione from press secretary to director of communications and hiring Stephen Smirti as press secretary. Gillen supported those moves . Councilman Edward Ambrosino voted against Fricchione’s promotion and recused himself on hiring Smirti.
Samantha Levine previously served as communications director. She said in an interview Tuesday that she had resigned, effective Monday, but declined to say why.
Republican majority leader Erin King Sweeney said she had voted against those personnel moves because of Gillen’s recent public comments describing the town board as "corrupt."
"It's disgraceful and in no way am I going to reward bad behavior," King Sweeney said.
Gillen said in response: "Personal retribution shouldn't guide votes, good government should."
Fricchione’s promotion would not have increased his $125,000 salary.
The Republicans and Goosby also voted to table indefinitely a proposed change to town board procedures that would have required the town attorney’s office to review all resolutions in both form and content before they go before the board.
Gillen said she hoped the board would reconsider the measure later.
“This is a good government initiative … to make sure that anything we're voting on does not violate town code, state law or any other law,” she said.
King Sweeney said she voted to table the measure to ensure department commissioners have the most say over the resolutions they propose.
"Let's just say it's a conservation and waterways issue, I want to know that our commissioner's OK with that. I'm really less concerned with the lawyer being OK with it,” she said.
The town board also voted to hire an auditor to analyze the franchise fees it collects from Altice and Verizon “to ensure that all franchise fees due and owing to the Town have been paid,” according to the resolution.


It was a great and terrible year for Jewish pop culture.
We wrote what we hope will be our last article on Howard Stern. (We have that hope regarding every article about Howard Stern.) Bethenny Frankel emerged as an unlikely hero, Al Franken had an unlikely fall from heroism, and our relationship with Mayim Bialik got deeper and more complicated than ever before.
Read on for our 17 most-read pieces of 2017.
1) 2017 was the year that marked the rise of two great Jewish women: Gal Gadot and Meghan Markle. Just kidding, Meghan Markle isn’t Jewish. Still, we thought she might be, giving rise to the kind of royal hysteria that only Jews can muster.
Is Meghan Markle Now Prince Harry’s Jew-ish Princess?
2) Why did readers of a Jewish pop-culture page care so much about scholar Ta-Nehisi Coates’s analysis of the peril of making comparisons between Nazi Germany and the Confederacy? Because The Schmooze’s audience is savvy and well-informed.
3) Your dutiful Schmooze writers need to do a 90-minute guided meditation every time they so much as hear the name “Ivanka Trump,” but you loved reading about her in 2017.
5) Lily Collins, who was formerly anorexic, starred in a movie about anorexia; her role called for her to lose considerable weight. Our think piece criticizing her participation in the project was contentious and emotional for many readers.
Why Did Star Of Anorexia Movie Flaunt Weight Loss To Promote ‘To The Bone’?
6) Since the time we wrote this article, Josh Tillis and Dayna Skolkin have gone on their honeymoon and gotten married (in that order) and scored slots in the Forward 50. Their wedding hora is the most spectacular we’ve ever seen.
7) Oh Ivanka! Turn away from the Dark Side!
8) This one is no surprise.
9) Ivanka Trump felt badly about the backlash to a glamorous Instagram photo of herself and husband Jared Kushner that she posted hours after her father signed an executive order imposing short-term bans on immigration from exclusively Muslim countries! But she didn’t feel badly enough about it to oppose the order.
10) This article about a white, Jewish actor pulling out of a major, lucrative film role to avoid racial whitewashing — a white person portraying a character who is meant to be a person of color — is refreshing.
11) The world series was good for the Jews this year, and readers of the Schmooze were ecstatic.
13) The Jewish people is divided into two groups: People who understood the Jewish joke Jerry Seinfeld made on “Norm MacDonald” and people who did not.
Only 50% Of Forward Staffers Get This Seinfeld Joke — Do You?
14) The accusations against Harvey Weinstein are bad enough; to boot, Weinstein also managed to drag the beloved Jewish performer and menschlekite actor Harvey Fierstein through the mud.
Guys, We’re Mad At Harvey WEINSTEIN, Not Harvey FIERSTEIN!
15) Lena Dunham calling a video of herself looking at Clinton-themed clothing on November 8th “a tough but essential watch” provokes a sigh even from this Dunham-Clinton fan. Still, the people want what they want, and what they wanted was to relive November 8th 2016 along with Lena Dunham.
16) Trevor Noah teared up with gratitude for his Jewish mother. We would write articles like this every day if we could.
17) Ah, yes, the article that launched a thousand emails from male Jewish Libertarians complaining about being unfairly targeted. It also launched a response from the founder of JSwipe, David Yarus, who was so kind as to come into our office to make the case for himself and Jewish men everywhere.
Jews, We Need To Talk: Why Are The Men On JSwipe So Awful?
You can catch the ensuing video below.
The end of the year draws near, and a new one dawns! May it be a year of equality, new talent, celebrity mishaps, and all things odd and wonderful.
This story "Pop Culture’s Biggest Hits On The Schmooze, 2017" was written by Jenny Singer.


Fulham have moved to replace Dimitar Berbatov by completing the signing of Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou.
Berbatov has been allowed to travel to Monaco for a medical ahead of a potential loan move to the Ligue 1 side.
West Ham were interested in signing Mitroglou but the 25-year-old has opted to move to Craven Cottage instead.
Mitroglou has signed a four-year contract with the west London club.
The striker began his career in Germany, but moved to Olympiacos in 2007.
He has enjoyed a superb season so far, scoring 14 league goals in the Greek Super League.
Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen will hope that Mitroglou can fill the void left by Berbatov, who has struggled for form recently.
Berbatov joined Fulham in August 2012 and enjoyed a successful first season with the club, scoring 15 goals.
This season has been a different story for the Bulgarian, however.
He has found the net just four times in the Barclays Premier League and his agent indicated that his client was unhappy at Craven Cottage shortly after the sacking of Martin Jol.
A move back to Spurs, where he is adored by the club's fans, would have been an ideal scenario for Berbatov.
But a transfer to Monaco would still be a good move for the former Manchester United man.
Berbatov was due to undergo a medical at Monaco, who sit second in Ligue 1, on Friday afternoon.
If he passes that, he will sign on loan until the end of the season, when his contract with the Cottagers expires.
Fulham have been one of the busiest clubs in the market on deadline day.
The west London club snapped up Lewis Holtby on loan until the end of the season and have also lodged a bid for Swansea defender Neil Taylor.
The Cottagers also announced on Friday morning that defender Aaron Hughes had joined Sky Bet Championship club QPR on a free transfer.
Press Association Sport understands Fulham are hoping to bring in at least three more signings before the deadline.
Holland international John Heitinga is currently finalising a move from Everton, while Manchester United youngsters Larnell Cole and Ryan Tunnicliffe appear close to signing.


A woman described as the Bonnie to her boyfriend's Clyde will spend another 222 days in jail after pleading guilty to five charges stemming from four incidents across the Central Okanagan.
Kristina Anderson and Julian Hoekstra were arrested Dec. 16, 2017, after months of mail thefts in West Kelowna, Peachland and Summerland.
The first conviction stems from a December 2016 incident in which stolen mail in Peachland, fitted with a bait tracking device, led police to the couple in a car on Dobbin Road in West Kelowna, full of stolen mail.
They were released on bail, but they weren't done.
After a slew of mailbox break-ins in May 2017, 19 covert cameras were installed in Summerland community mailboxes, and on June 4, the cameras caught Anderson and Hoekstra breaking into a mailbox near McDougald and Matsu roads.
Several months later, in October, a community mailbox on Shannon Lake Road was broken into and a recently approved Wal-Mart credit card was stolen. On Oct. 29, Anderson and Hoekstra went on a “shopping spree," racking up $3,407 in charges on the card at Wal-Mart and the Real Canadian Superstore.
Surveillance footage showed the couple using the stolen credit card at Wal-Mart and the phone number used to activate the credit card was linked to Anderson.
Finally, in December, police arrested Hoekstra and Anderson, who had been living above Peachland in an RV at the end of Trepanier Road.
Police found the $37,000 RV had also been stolen in July, and its licence plate was a fake.
When police arrived, Hoekstra was tending to a campfire, fuelled mainly by pieces of mail, and mail littered the ground and filled the RV. Three days prior, a mailbox had been looted in Talus Ridge.
The pair have remained in custody since.
The 38-year-old Merritt woman has two children, 19 and 13 years old, and defence counsel Colby Johnson said she has a good parenting relationship with their father.
“So are we fuelling a drug habit here or what?” asked Justice Gale Sinclair.
“No, it doesn't strike me as a drug habit,” said Johnson. “I determined it as a kind of Bonnie and Clyde scenario.
Anderson is no longer dating Hoekstra.
While Johnson asked for a conditional sentence, Sinclair sentenced Anderson to a total sentence of one year for theft of mail in West Kelowna, attempted theft of mail in Summerland, possession of a stolen credit card and possession of a stolen motorhome and stolen mail. With credit for time served, Anderson will spend another 222 days behind bars. Hoesktra is scheduled to face trial in April.


A chef familiar to the culinary team at Kevin Gillespie’s restaurant Gunshow has been tapped to helm the eatery’s kitchen.
Chris McCord, who has served as sous chef at Gunshow since 2015, will take over as chef de cuisine after executive chef Joey Ward’s departs to open his own concept in Poncey-Highland on Feb. 9.
Before that, McCord worked at French restaurant F&B in Buckhead, and the now-shuttered Ink & Elm in Emory Village and The Globe in Midtown. He attended culinary school at the Art Institute of Atlanta, where he was a year behind Gillespie.
As chef de cuisine, McCord will the responsible for the back of house operations and the menu, and a new general manager will run the front of the house operations. The restaurant will no longer use the executive chef title, according to Gillespie.
Gunshow has racked up plenty of accolades since it opened in 2013 in Glenwood Park, including being named to Esquire’s list of Best New Restaurants and the National Eater 38. Gillespie has also been named as a James Beard Award finalist in the Best Chef: Southeast category in 2016. He was also a finalist for a James Beard Award in 2013 in the Cookbook: American Cooking category for his debut cookbook, "Fire in my Belly."


A Japanese volcano erupted on Thursday, spewing ash and smoke six kilometres into the air over a small southern island. There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption on Kuchinoerabu, in the far south of Japan. A local official said there had been no evacuations on the island, which is home to just 109 people. Images broadcast by NHK showed large plumes of ash and grey smoke billowing above the island, which has regularly been affected by eruptions. “We heard a huge explosion and there was shaking like an earthquake,” a resident told the broadcaster. The meteorological agency said the eruption occurred shortly after it had issued a new warning. “There have been eruptions there since last year but we sent an alert out (this morning) for this latest eruption as it will have a wider impact,” said Jun Fujimatsu, an official at the agency’s volcanic activity division. “We have maintained a level three warning, which means a ban on entering the volcano area,” he told AFP.


Pension ULIPs offered by insurance companies are tailored to the needs of investors to accumulate their retirement corpus. They are similar to regular ULIPs in terms of nature and cost structure. Both have a lock-in of five years and the premiums paid are tax exempt under Section 80C up to ₹1,50,000 annually.
Pension ULIPs are long-term investment products working in two phases: 1) accumulation and 2) income.
During the accumulation phase, you can build your retirement corpus by investing in different asset classes. They levy various charges towards premium allocation, policy administration and switching. As mandated by the insurance regulator, pension ULIPs should guarantee at least the total premium paid by the policyholder at the time of pay out. For this, an investment guarantee charge is levied by the insurers ranging from 0.10 to 0.50 per cent per annum. Some insurers levy mortality charge calculated on the sum at risk. On death, the nominee would receive the higher of the fund value or 105 per cent of the total premiums paid so far. The nominee would be given the option to either withdraw totally or purchase an annuity product from the same insurer.
On completion of the policy term, the policyholder will receive the maturity proceeds (vesting benefit) —higher of the fund value or at least 101 per cent of the total premium paid. As per the current regulations, one can withdraw one-third of the maturity proceeds as lumpsum, which is tax-free. The balance must be converted into an “annuity” that is offered by the same insurer. The payments from annuity are taxable as per the policyholder’s tax bracket.
HDFC Life Click 2 Retire is an online pension ULIP. The premiums collected are invested in two funds — pension equity plus and pension income fund — in certain proportion, as prescribed by HDFC Life. Here, the limitation is that the policyholder has no right to choose the fund option. The proportion of allocation is based on the policy term chosen. For instance, for the 35-year term, the allocation to equity fund in the first year is 80 per cent and 77 per cent in the second year. In the 20th and 30th years, the allocation to equity fund will be 29 and 2 per cent respectively. The allocation towards income fund increases as you near the maturity date.
HDFC Life Click 2 Retire is cheaper than other pension ULIPs available in the market. The premium allocation and policy administration charges are nil. The fund management charge is 1.35 per cent of the fund value. The average expense ratio of the direct and regular plans of the balanced mutual funds were at 1.2 and 2.3 per cent (as of February 2018). About 0.5 per cent per annum is levied (on fund value) as investment guarantee charge across the policy term. This is higher relative to some other pension ULIPs that levy the charge only on the sum at risk. That means they charge nothing if fund value exceeds the total premium paid.
On death, the higher of the fund value or the 105 per cent of the total premiums paid so far is given. The nominee can either withdraw this amount as lumpsum or purchase an annuity product from HDFC Life to get pension. On maturity, the policyholder is given higher of the fund value or assured vesting benefit. The latter ranges between 101 per cent and 135 per cent of the total premium paid, calculated based on the policy term and premium payment term.
HDFC Life allows you to hold the maturity proceeds within the pension ULIP by postponing the vesting date (the date you want regular income).
Else, you can purchase an annuity plan (immediate or deferred) offered by HDFC Life and receive the pension payments. Please note, you are given the option of withdrawing one-third of the maturity proceeds as lumpsum.
HDFC Life Click 2 Retire is cheaper than other pension ULIPs as it levies no premium allocation and policy administration charges. However, the plan does not provide any loyalty additions.
SBI retire smart (10 per cent of annual premium after 15th year) and ICICI Pru Easy Retirement (5 per cent of fund value after 10th year and on every fifth year), for instance, provide loyalty additions, which boost returns. Further, the funds under the plan have a limited history and have delivered moderate returns since inception compared to their benchmarks.
It is suggested that investors look through other options before deciding to bet on the HDFC Click2Retire.


After a frustrating six months which saw her fall from the cusp of the world's top 100 to 153 in the world, Katie O'Brien is back on form and very close to joining Anne Keothavong in the promised land. As she sets her sights on a good grasscourt season, Katie talks about why she has improved, on almost being in the top 100 and why the women on tour are useless at socialising.
On her terrific year so far: I’ve been playing really well and in general I’ve had a really good year so I’m really looking forward to the upcoming tournaments.
On playing on clay: I’m much more comfortable on it than I used to be. A lot of Brits don’t particularly like the clay but I don’t mind it. The French is harder to qualify for than the other Slams because of the clay.
On hopefully getting automatic qualification for Wimbledon: I didn’t expect that, to be honest. I started the year just wanting to turn over a new leaf and everything came together really well. It would be a huge bonus if I can get in at Wimbledon off my ranking because I’ve had wildcards the last five years, so it would be nice to actually to get there on my own rights for a change.
On why she has improved so much: In December I trained really hard and it’s a combination of everything. I tried to take a different mental approach to my tennis and enjoy it more and be more positive. I’ve scheduled my year a lot better too. I’ve incorporated a lot more training weeks back at Roehampton, so that’s made sure I’ve gone into every tournament giving myself the best chance possible because I’m in the best frame of mind and the best possible shape.
On almost breaking into the top 100 last year: Last year was slightly different because I had a high ranking because of my two big results from Wimbledon and Eastbourne and I didn’t really have much else. That maybe happened a little bit too early because I wasn’t ready mentally to make that breakthrough. So now I’m in a stronger position because I don’t really have many points to defend for the rest of the year. And I’m mentally and physically better-equipped now and a much better player.
On Anne Keothavong breaking into the top 100: It has taken the pressure off. Anne breaking through gave us all a lot more belief. We’re quite a tight-nit group, we all train together and we’ve seen that it’s possible that, with hard work, you can do it. We are competitive with each other but it’s healthy competition.
On the loneliness of the tour: It can be a little bit soul-destroying at times. It is such a lonely sport. It’s not like rugby or football when you’ve always got good banter going on and the support of a lot of people around you. A lot of the time I am travelling on my own but on the men’s side, I think they deal with it a bit better. The men socialise a lot better than the women. The women tend to keep themselves to themselves. A lot of them are quite young. It’s difficult to maintain any kind of normal social life but you have to accept that to a certain extent and deal with it as best you can. When we’re back in London, we try to live as normally as we can.
On who to keep an eye on in the future: It’s tough to say because there are so many up-and-coming juniors at the moment. But Laura is so good. She’s certainly a prospect to watch out for in the next few years. She’s a lot more mature than many people of her age.
On her love for Hull City: I don’t get to see many games because I’m always travelling so much but I do follow the results. And I managed to get to Wembley last year for the play-offs. That was amazing. The Hull Daily Mail actually called me last week to ask me to give a message of support to the team ahead of their final game. It would be great for the city if I could do well because sport’s really big in Hull.
Apart from losing that opening service game, Sunday's opener was pretty straightforward for Andy Murray, who dealt with experienced clay-courter Juan Ignacio Chela impressively. The draw looks Ok-ish now, with potential last-8 opponent Gilles Simon desperately out of form at the moment. If Andy can reach the last four, it would be a fantastic achievement. Getting past Rafa on clay, however, would be nothing short of a little miracle...still, you never know.
So, fingers crossed, some of this stuff might come to pass in the next fortnight. I reckon 5 out of 8 is respectable, right?
Short blog this week but might be back with an extra one from Paris. Keep checking the Mail website for plenty of stories and interviews.


Using a sensor hidden in the grille, the Nissan Rogue Sport is one of several models that will make automatic emergency braking standard for 2018.
To distinguish itself in the increasingly competitive field of advanced safety capabilities, Nissan will standardize automatic emergency braking in the bulk of its 2018 model year lineup.
All the major manufacturers in the U.S. have some manner of forward crash mitigation technology available today and most have agreed to standardize it by 2022, but only a few have taken that step ahead of schedule. Nissan joins Toyota and Volvo as the only high-volume sellers to make automatic emergency braking, or AEB, available on the bulk of their sales fleets.
Using radar technology, the system monitors surrounding traffic and alerts drivers to potential crashes with audio and visual warnings. If the driver doesn’t respond, the system applies the brake autonomously.
Part of Nissan's "Safety Shield Technologies," automatic emergency braking uses a radar system to detect potential crashes.
Currently, AEB is part of a suite of driver assistance technologies that Nissan brands as its “Safety Shield.” It includes blind spot monitoring, lane departure prevention, alertness warnings, adaptive cruise control and an around view camera system.
Nissan will implement the standard automatic braking technology in its most popular cars and SUVs: the Rogue/Rogue Sport, Altima, Sentra, Pathfinder, Maxima, Murano and Leaf. The brand’s top-selling trucks, the Frontier and Titan, are not scheduled to get standard AEB and neither is the Versa subcompact sedan.
The Japanese automaker, which has its American headquarters in Tennessee, also won’t offer the technology with its manual transmission vehicles or its NISMO lineup, but it expects the total AEB sales to double to roughly 1 million vehicles.
The Nissan Altima also will receive automatic emergency braking as a standard feature for next year.
Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said AEB has been shown to reduce front-to-rear crash rates by 50 percent while collision warning systems curb accidents by about 27 percent. Both systems have been shown to reduce injury rates as well.
In a previous interview, Rader told the Daily News that among the latest intelligent safety systems that use radar and sensor systems to monitor traffic conditions and driving habits, AEB has proven to be the most effective system for improving safety followed by blind-spot warning.
The majority of Nissan's top sellers, including the Sentra, Altima, Maxima, Rogue, Murano and Pathfinder, will all receive AEB as a standard feature for 2018.
He compared the roll-out of these two features to electric stability control, which began as an available feature in luxury cars in the 1990s and is now standard throughout the industry.


The Malaysian prime minister says Burma could face expulsion from the Asean group of nations if its government continues to ignore calls to free the jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"We have already informed them that we are very disappointed with the turn of events and we hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will be released as soon as possible," Dr Mahathir said.
He said that ultimately Burma could be expelled from Asean though he stressed this would be done as a last resort.
It was Dr Mahathir who spearheaded moves to bring Burma into Asean - the Association of South East Asian Nations - in 1997.
The Malaysian leader hoped that trade and political engagement would bring change there, says the BBC's Jonathan Kent in Kuala Lumpur.
Suu Kyi and other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) have been detained by the Burmese military government since the end of May.
Dr Mahathir said that Asean nations had been forced to criticise Burma because its leadership had caused problems and embarrassed its neighbours.
Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest had damaged the credibility of the 10-member group and could lead to Burma's expulsion.
"We will have to examine every avenue before we can take such drastic actions," Dr Mahathir told French news agency AFP.
"In the end, it may have to be that way. I don't say that it cannot be but certainly not at this moment."
Earlier this month the BBC obtained the first eyewitness evidence that the Burmese army directed and orchestrated the attack in May on the motorcade of the democracy leader.
The military government says it was forced to act because Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was plotting an armed uprising, but critics reject this charge.
The attack and subsequent detention of Aung San Suu Kyi sparked international outrage and the US Congress has recently imposed sanctions against Burmese exports.
In a wide ranging interview with AFP, Dr Mahathir also repeated his recent assertion that people of European descent are by nature greedy and warlike.
However, he described French President Jacques Chirac who visits Malaysia on Tuesday as "sane and normal" and said he was the exception that proved the rule.
To support his case, he cited Western wars and the behaviour of white colonists in North America and Australia who he said had committed acts of genocide against the indigenous people of those continents.


BEIJING (Reuters) - A panda at a zoo in southern China attacked a student who snuck into its pen hoping for a cuddle with the endangered bear, state media said Saturday.
The 20-year-old male student surnamed Liu jumped over the fence at the zoo in the tourist city of Guilin, ignoring warning signs not to, Xinhua news agency said.
“The panda, named Yangyang, was wide awake. Apparently scared by the intruder, he bit at Liu’s arms and legs,” it quoted an unnamed worker as saying after zoo keepers managed to calm the bear and rescue Liu, the report said.
Scientists believe fewer than 2,000 giant pandas live in the wild in China.


Nobody inside CCHQ was prepared for election night’s 10 p.m. exit poll. Lynton Crosby’s last text to me predicted that we were going to ‘do well’, which according to our expectations would mean a Conservative majority of more than 60. A late projection, based on data from the ground and Jim Messina’s modelling, suggested we would win 371 seats, giving us a majority of 92. In the end, the Conservatives got their highest share of the vote since 1983, and more votes than Tony Blair managed in any of his elections, yet still we ended up with a hung parliament.
Skilful leadership may deliver stability, but the absence of an overall majority means the nature of the Brexit deal the government negotiates is more uncertain. There has long been talk of a choice between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ forms of Brexit, with the latter requiring membership of the EU’s single market. Since that would involve accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, vast annual membership payments to the EU, and the continuation of free movement rules, people who voted to leave the European Union might wonder whether advocates of a ‘soft’ departure really do understand that Brexit means Brexit.
Because this election failed to produce the majority we needed, it is impossible to call the campaign anything but a failure. Before it began, we envisaged a return to traditional campaigning methods, with daily press conferences to scrutinise Labour and promote our policies. Theresa, never comfortable hogging the limelight, expected to make more use of her ministerial team. On the advice of the campaign consultants, and following opinion research that showed Theresa to be far more popular than the party or her colleagues, we eschewed our instincts. We were wrong to do so.
My biggest regret, however, is that we did not campaign in accordance with the insight that took Theresa to Downing Street in the first place. While the referendum result was undoubtedly an instruction for Britain to leave the EU, it was also a vote for change. One can disagree with Theresa’s prescription — a strategic role for the state to broaden economic opportunity, a clampdown on corporate excesses, rights for workers, intervention in dysfunctional markets and, through school reform, house-building and tax policy, a determination to make Britain the world’s Great Meritocracy — but it is very difficult to disagree with her diagnosis.
That is why the Conservative manifesto, which I authored jointly with the brilliant Ben Gummer, rejected ‘untrammelled free markets’ and ‘selfish individualism’, and declared that ‘our responsibility to one another is greater than the rights we hold as individuals’. I was surprised to read some commentators describe these statements as ‘left-wing’ when the manifesto was consciously Burkean in its style and substance. Burke’s great revelation was that if we value something, we must be prepared to reform it in order to keep it. I fear the election will cause many to conclude that we should return to the modern consensus politics of pure social and economic liberalism, which I believe is one of the causes of the division we see in Britain today.
The manifesto was later written off as ‘the worst in history’. One of the criticisms is that, instead of offering voters giveaways and bribes, we spelt out where cuts would fall. While I accept that the manifesto might have been too ambitious, I worry that the implication of this argument is that politicians should not be straight with the electorate.
The biggest complaint, though, was about our social care proposals. You can criticise the policy, but we need to be honest with ourselves. Since we have an ageing population, we need to spend more on health and care, and we need to decide how to pay for it. We can ask older people to meet the costs, subject to certain protections, from the wealth they have accrued through life, or we can tax younger generations even more. Somehow we have reached a point where older people with assets expect younger, poorer people to pay for their care. With Britain’s demographics, that is not sustainable; neither is it socially just.
Personal attacks come with the job when you work in government, but at times like these, you find out who your true friends are, and you realise that the people who are hurt most by the criticism are your loved ones. So the biggest lesson of the past week for me has been a reminder of the importance of friends, family and love.


The Texas State men's basketball team won its seventh straight home game Saturday in a 75-60 decision over Nicholls State. The Bobcats are only one-half game out of first place in the Southland Conference, but that's not commanding position for making the league tournament.
The Texas State men's basketball team played a strong game at league leader McNeese State Saturday, but lost, 97-92. The Texas State women's team lost, 82-66, at home against McNeese State.
The Texas State football team will have to win out if they are to win the Southland Conference, but the chance is still there. The Bobcats will play Northwestern State Saturday at Bobcat Stadium for homecoming.


Soldiers of the German Bundeswehr participate in Land Operation Exercise 2017 in Munster, Germany, on October 13.
German military strategists prepare for the fall of the European Union and the United States.
The German Army is trying to work out what to do if Europe falls apart, according to leaked documents published by Der Spiegel magazine on November 4.
The 102-page document, published in February and titled “Strategic Perspective 2040,” reveals that the German Army is contemplating how to react to six political trends that could escalate in the coming years. The document describes as its sixth and worst-case scenario “The Collapse of the EU and Germany in Reactive Mode.” The document proves Germany has a strategy for a time when it is no longer under United States or European Union dominance.
“For the first time in its history, the Bundeswehr predicts how social trends and international conflicts will influence the Bundeswehr’s strategic planning,” Spiegel wrote. “The conclusions are six security-political scenarios that are extraordinary” (Trumpet translation throughout).
The proof that Germany is making these sorts of plans is news in itself. Antonia Colibasanu wrote for Geopolitical Futures: “The release of details about Germany’s first national defense strategy in decades is a signal to the world that it doesn’t intend to sit idle.” For 70 years, Germany has been content to sit in America’s shadow and hasn’t bothered doing this kind of planning. That time is over.
“The system that was built after the war no longer works,” she continued. The EU and nato are cracking under the weight of an increasingly divergent set of interests among their members. So Germany must make its own plans, and it must plan for the worst.
In essence, the scenario describes how Germany would need to prepare for a time when it can no longer rely on the EU or America for its security—a time when the world has drifted into such disarray that security matters became the top priority. The German Army is not yet prepared for such a scenario. Yet the more likely the scenario becomes, the more Germany needs to prepare for it.
Since large portions of the plan were formulated two years ago, the strategists didn’t factor in the presidency of Donald Trump. No doubt the military strategists now regard this scenario with greater urgency.
The fact that German planners are thinking this way shows we’re entering a new era of German thinking. This is perhaps the clearest indication to date that Germany realizes that it must rely on itself in an increasingly hostile world; it cannot afford to be or look weak.
That next-door neighbor may no longer be Communist, but Germany’s confidence in U.S. protection is at an all-time low.
Of course, Germany also cannot rely on its EU allies, as the scenario shows. So the nation is looking for ways to increase its dominance over its neighbors so they do not become a threat.
This document’s revelations shouldn’t surprise us. German politicians began talking about the need for increased German power back in 2014. At the Munich Security Conference that year, several of Germany’s top leaders discussed how their nation needed a much more muscular foreign and military policy. Why? Norbert Röttgen, head of the foreign affairs committee and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party, said at the time that the change in Germany’s tone stems from “a coincidence of several events that shake you awake,” according to the New York Times.


Prosecutors detained a top Chinese news anchor shortly before a nightly broadcast, state media reported, as authorities extend anti-corruption efforts deeper into the country's media industry.
Rui Chenggang, the popular host of financial news programs on China Central Television (CCTV), was taken away from his studio on Friday, ruling Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily said on its Twitter account on Saturday night.
Rui's detention, along with the network's vice director of financial news Li Yong, comes a little more than a month after officials announced an investigation into suspected bribery by his boss, CCTV's advertising director and director-general of its finance and economics channel Guo Zhenxi.
The government has cracked down on official corruption and extravagance in China since the appointment last year of President Xi Jinping, who has said widespread graft threatens the party's survival.
An indication of the suddenness of Rui's detention, a second microphone appeared on the set of Friday night's "Economic News" broadcast, though it was anchored only by Rui's co-host, reported the financial news site Caixin.com.
"Rui Chenggang was directly taken away from CCTV by authorities last night (Friday) and no notice was given at the time to the programme," Caixin cited an unnamed CCTV employee as saying.
Rui, 36, is one of China's most prominent business journalists, whose strongly nationalist stances and controversial remarks have helped make him a celebrity.
His prominence in China grew in 2007, after his comments on a Starbucks located in Beijing's ancient Forbidden City helped spur a public outcry that led the coffee chain to close the branch.
Rui's Twitter-like Sina microblog, on which he has more than 10 million followers, was still accessible on Sunday and some CCTV web pages still contained his biographical details.
CCTV could not be immediately reached for comment.
The network is viewed by the government as an enormously influential and useful propaganda tool abroad, and at home where Beijing keeps a tight rein on domestic media.
Critics have long pointed to corruption within the ranks at state media, arguing blackmail is widespread and that journalists are susceptible to bribery.
President Xi has vowed to take down powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies" in his graft-busting campaign and inspection teams have fanned out across China.
The official Xinhua news agency reported over the weekend that inspectors had found graft in construction and land projects in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. It also said that a senior party official from the southern Yunnan province, Zhang Tianxin, had been removed from his post for suspected discipline violations, a euphemism for corruption.


Zayn Malik is finally opening up about the first time he ever thought about leaving One Direction – and the reason is not what you'd expect.
Meanwhile, in honor of his first solo tour (the dates have yet to be announced) in support of his album, Mind of Mine, Malik also talks about some of his other "firsts" with the magazine.
With regard to his first crush, the "Pillowtalk" singer actually confesses to two. "Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen," he reveals. "They're the same, right?"
And while Malik is currently linked to supermodel Gigi Hadid, he says he still considers himself a mama's boy, so the first person he naturally calls or texts when he wakes up each morning is "my mum."
To hear more about what Malik thinks about leaving One Direction, watch the video below.