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Balfour Declaration: Banksy holds ‘apology’ party for Palestinians

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Balfour Declaration: Banksy holds 'apology' party for Palestinians

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Media captionThe mock apology carved into the West Bank barrier played on the Queen's cypher – EIIR.

The British artist Banksy has organised a "street party" in the occupied West Bank to apologise for the Balfour Declaration, ahead of its centenary.

An actor dressed as Queen Elizabeth II hosted dozens of children at the event.

She also unveiled a new work by Banksy etched into Israel's controversial West Bank barrier that said: "Er… Sorry."

The Balfour Declaration expressed the British government's support for a Jewish national home in Palestine, paving the way for Israel's creation.

Israel and Jewish communities view the pledge as momentous, while Palestinians regard it as an historical injustice.

The British government has said it will mark the anniversary "with pride" and will host at a formal dinner in London on Thursday that will be attended by Prime Minister Theresa May and her Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.

  • My ancestor's hand in history

Banksy's tea party in Bethlehem on Wednesday was attended by children from nearby Palestinian refugee camps. Instead of paper party hats, they wore plastic helmets painted with the British flag and riddled with pretend bullet holes.

A statement by Banksy said: "This conflict has brought so much suffering to people on all sides. It didn't feel appropriate to 'celebrate' the British role in it."

"The British didn't handle things well here – when you organise a wedding, it's best to make sure the bride isn't already married."

Image copyright EPA
Image caption Children at the "street party" wore plastic helmets painted with the British flag

The British government's pledge, on 2 November 1917, was made in a letter by the then Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community.

It said the government viewed "with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people", so long as it did not "prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities".

The Balfour Declaration was the first international recognition by a world power of the right of the Jewish people to a national home in their ancestral land and formed the basis of Britain's Mandate for Palestine in 1920.

The Mandate expired on 14 May 1948 and the Jewish leadership in Palestine declared an independent Israeli state. In the Arab-Israeli war which followed, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs fled or were forced from their homes.

Palestinians, who see the Balfour Declaration as something that caused decades of suffering and deprived them of their own state on land that became Israel, have called for an apology from the UK ahead of the centenary.

Image copyright AFP
Image caption Lord Balfour met Israel's future first president, Chaim Weizmann in 1925

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrote in the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday that the act of signing the letter was not something that could be changed, but that it was something that could be "made right".

"This will require humility and courage. It will require coming to terms with the past, recognising mistakes, and taking concrete steps to correct those mistakes."

Mr Abbas said recognising a Palestinian state within the boundaries between Israel and East Jerusalem and the West Bank which existed before the 1967 Middle East war, and with East Jerusalem as its capital, could "go some way towards fulfilling the political rights of the Palestinian people".

The British government has reiterated its support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel arising through negotiations, describing the second half of the Balfour Declaration as "unfinished business".


Source – bbc.com

Technology

Bitcoin tops £5,000 in value

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Bitcoin tops £5,000 in value

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption For the first time ever, Bitcoin has hit £5,000 in value

The price of Bitcoin has surpassed £5,000 per coin – a new record.

While it is a historic moment of sorts, Bitcoin is usually compared to the dollar.

The virtual currency peaked at $6,649.33 (£5,015) at about 16:34 GMT on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.

The total value of Bitcoin in circulation is currently $110bn (£83bn) and the cryptocurrency has risen more than seven-fold against the dollar over the past year.

The reason for the latest jump in value was in part driven by an announcement by US-based derivatives marketplace operator CME Group about a plan to launch a Bitcoin futures product before the end of the year.

Bitcoin was launched in January 2009. Its value was lower than $100 in June 2013, and below $1,000 as recently as January.

But in August, the virtual currency soared to $3,451 after a spin-off – Bitcoin Cash – failed to prove as disruptive as had been feared.

And in September, Bitcoin crossed the $5,000 threshold for the first time.

"It's been a very innovative year – there have been a lot of new technology platforms for cryptocurrencies, which have lifted Bitcoin," Garrick Hileman a research fellow at University of Cambridge told the BBC.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the price were to go even higher."

Coinbase – a business that lets the public trade and store digital currencies – reports that it is now signing up between 35,000 to 50,000 new users per day.

Mr Hileman said that many people had recently been attracted to invest in Bitcoin because when a "fork" happened in August, investors received an equivalent amount of new Bitcoin Cash coins for free.

Another "fork", SegWit2x, is due to happen on 18 November.

"Rising geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula are also driving interest in Bitcoin in the surrounding countries, because people are wary of investing in the yen or the dollar," Mr Hileman added.

However, he continued, government regulators may crack down on cryptocurrencies, which could drive prices back down.


Source – bbc.com

Entertainment

The Best Motorcycle Travel Routes in The World

The Best Motorcycle Travel Routes in The World


The Best Motorcycle Travel Routes in The World

Are you a motorcyclist with a passion for traveling the road on your bike?

People throughout the world enjoy riding motorcycles and having the experience with friends or family.

There are more than 4.12 million miles of roadway in the United States alone. This makes for a lot of opportunities to enjoy riding your motorcycle in different places. But when you look abroad, you will find some of the best rides in the world.

Read on to learn about the best motorcycle travel routes on Earth.

Ideal Motorcycle Travel Routes

Tail of the Dragon – North Carolina/Tennessee

Deals Gap is a mountain pass that runs along the Great Smoky Mountains.

It is at the North Carolina and Tennessee state lines where you will find the Tail of the Dragon. This winding portion of U.S. Route 129, takes you through the mountains and around some of the best scenery the country has to offer.

This 11-mile stretch of highway boasts 318 looping curves and is an exciting ride for motorcyclists.

Mae Hong Son Loop – Thailand

If you are looking for an international adventure for motorcycle travel, Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Loop is worth the trip.

The loop boasts more than 1,000 turns and motorcycle enthusiasts travel from all over to experience its unique bends. The roadway takes you past a lot of what makes Thailand such a popular tourist destination.

You will maneuver your way through the mountains, traveling past waterfalls, villages, and temples.

The Trail of Tears – Tennessee to Alabama

If you are a motorcycle rider who has an appreciation for historic rides, the Trail of Tears is one of the ride adventures for you.

The Trail of Tears is known in American history for being the path Native Americans traveled as they were forced west in the 1800s.

But today, motorcyclists and Native Americans gather to ride along this stretch of roadway as a way to honor those who were forced from their land.

If you want to ride on a particularly historic day, go on the third Saturday of September. Besides being great weather for a ride, thousands gather to make the trip down Highway 72 from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Waterloo, Alabama.

The Transalpine Route – France to Italy

How does a ride from Grenoble, France, to Venice, Italy, sound?

The Transalpine Route will take you from France to Italy, through the Alps, making it one of the most popular roadways in Europe, especially during the summer. If you have a lot of time on your trip, consider traveling the whole route – over 2,400 km. It will also take you through Switzerland and Austria along the way.

Besides the amazing scenery along the way and sharp turns, you will be treated to being in Venice, Italy when you reach the end of the route.

Wrapping Up: The World’s Best Motorcycle Travel Routes

Regardless of where you are in the world, there are unique roads to travel on your motorcycle.

Besides being outside and taking in the sights and sounds of nature, you also have the opportunity to see amazing buildings and historic landmarks.

Have you traveled through some of these destinations on your motorcycle? Have another spot that has been memorable for you that’s not on this list?

Comment below to tell others about your motorcycle adventures.

World

New York truck attack: Suspect ‘inspired by Islamic State’

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New York truck attack: Suspect 'inspired by Islamic State'

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Media captionNew York truck attack: Who is Sayfullo Saipov?

The man accused of killing eight people in New York by driving a truck down a cycle lane was inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group, police say.

New York Police's Deputy Commissioner John Miller said that notes in Arabic claiming the attack on behalf of IS were recovered from the scene of the attack in Lower Manhattan.

The suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old Uzbek immigrant, was shot and injured by police.

He is in hospital and under arrest.

Mr Miller said: "Based on the investigation overnight, it appears that Mr Saipov had been planning this for a number of weeks.

"He did this in the name of Isis [an alternative name for IS], and along with the other items recovered at the scene was some notes that further indicate that.

"He appears to have followed almost exactly to a 'T' the instructions that Isis has put out in its social media channels before, with instructions to their followers on how to carry out such an attack."

  • What we know and don't

One of the notes said "the Islamic State would endure forever", the deputy commissioner added.

Police have sealed off Mr Saipov's home in Paterson, New Jersey, and are searching the premises.

IS has suffered a series of military setbacks in Syria and Iraq in recent months as US-backed forces take back territory the group considers its "caliphate".

What has been the reaction?

New York has increased the police presence at key transport hubs, and there will be additional uniformed and plain-clothes police on duty at Sunday's New York Marathon.

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Media captionTrump on New York terror suspect: 'Send him to Gitmo'

President Donald Trump said he was taking steps to end the diversity lottery programme – the immigration system under which the suspect entered the country.

He also attacked the US justice system, and said he would consider sending the suspect to the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

  • Trump backs Guantanamo for NY suspect
  • What is the diversity green card lottery?
  • How did Trump do in his terror response?

"We also have to come up with punishment that's far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now," he said.

The mayor of New York City and the governor of New York state have both praised the resilience of New Yorkers – and urged people not to "politicise" a tragedy that took eight lives.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said the attacker was believed to have acted alone, telling reporters: "He is a depraved coward, is what he is, and he was associated with Isis, and he was radicalised domestically."

Mr Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio also suggested New York's strict gun control laws had ensured that high-powered weapons could not get into the hands of terrorists.

How did the attack unfold?

The attacker rented the truck from a New Jersey branch of retailer Home Depot on Tuesday afternoon before driving to New York City and entering the bike lane, police said.

Video cameras show the van driving at very high speed, appearing to target bike riders and pedestrians.

After the van collided with a school bus, its driver emerged and brandished what appeared to be two weapons.

Mr Saipov was shot and wounded at the scene by police officer Ryan Nash, 28, one of three NYPD officers who attended the scene after being alerted by witnesses.

He is currently being treated at Bellevue hospital, where he has been interviewed by officers.

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Media captionBabtunde Ogunnyi describes the moment a truck hit people on a cycle path in Lower Manhattan

Knives, a paint gun and a pellet gun were recovered from the scene.

Twelve people were injured in the attack. Three have subsequently been released and nine remain in hospital, five of them in a serious condition.

It was the deadliest terror attack in the city since 11 September, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people died at the hands of al-Qaeda attackers who flew hijacked aircraft into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

Who is the suspect?

Sayfullo Saipov had reportedly lived in Tampa, Florida, before moving to Paterson, New Jersey.

He arrived in America from Uzbekistan in 2010 and is a legal resident in the country. Uber confirmed he had been working as a driver for them.

Three officials said Mr Saipov had previously come to the federal authorities' attention because of an unrelated investigation, the New York Times reported.

Police records show he was arrested in Missouri last year over a traffic fine.

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev told President Trump his country was ready to "use all forces and resources" to help investigate the attack. Uzbek officials have not yet confirmed the identity or nationality of the attacker.

  • Read more on the suspect
  • Why Uzbek migrants are radicalised

Who were the victims?

The deaths of five Argentines were confirmed by the country's foreign ministry. They were part of a group of nine friends in New York to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation from a polytechnic college in the central city of Rosario, Argentine media said.

Image copyright Social media
Image caption From L to R: victims Alejandro Damián Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferrucci

One of the men who died, steel firm owner Ariel Erlij, helped pay for the friends' trip, La Nación newspaper reported (in Spanish).

The men – all aged 48 or 49 – were named as Hernán Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferrucci.

Belgian officials said Anne-Laure Decadt, a 31-year-old from Staden in Flanders, was also killed. Three Belgians were wounded.

Two other victims, both Americans, have not yet been named.

  • Read more on the victims

Were you in the area? Did you witness the events? Email [email protected]

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

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Or use the form below


Source – bbc.com

Health

Baby gene therapy study offers hope for fatal muscle disease

Baby gene therapy study offers hope for fatal muscle disease

    A first attempt at gene therapy for a disease that leaves babies unable to move, swallow and, eventually, breathe has extended the tots' lives, and some began to roll over, sit and stand on their own, researchers reported Wednesday.

    Only 15 babies with spinal muscular atrophy received the experimental gene therapy, but researchers in Ohio credited the preliminary and promising results to replacing the infants' defective gene early — in the first few months of life, before the neuromuscular disease destroyed too many key nerve cells.

    "They all should have died by now," said Dr. Jerry Mendell of Nationwide Children's Hospital, who led the work published by The New England Journal of Medicine. Yet, "those babies are still improving."

    Mendell cautioned that much more study is needed to prove the gene therapy works and is safe. Nor is it clear whether the replacement gene's effects would wane over time.

    Spinal muscular atrophy occurs in about 1 in 10,000 births, and those with the most severe form, called SMA Type 1, rarely reach their second birthday. They can be born looking healthy but rapidly decline. One study found just 8 percent of the most severely affected survived to age 20 months without needing permanent mechanical ventilation to breathe.

    There is no cure. The first treatment wasn't approved until last December — a drug named Spinraza that requires spinal injections every few months.

    The experimental gene therapy approach aims for a one-time fix.

    WHAT GOES WRONG

    Spinal muscular atrophy is caused when a mutated gene can't produce a protein crucial for survival of motor neurons, nerve cells in the spinal cord that control muscles.

    Some children carry extra copies of a backup gene that produces small amounts of the vital protein, and thus have much milder forms of the disease.

    GENE REPLACEMENT

    Scientists loaded a healthy version of the gene into a virus modified so it couldn't cause illness. Then 15 babies got a one-time intravenous injection. The virus carried the healthy gene into motor neurons, where it got to work producing the protein those nerve cells require to live.

    Three babies received a low dose of the gene therapy, as a first-step safety precaution. The remaining 12 got a high dose.

    RESULTS

    All of the children are alive, Mendell said, about two years and counting after treatment. All beat the odds of needing permanent machine help to breathe by age 20 months.

    But only the high-dose recipients saw better motor control, reaching some developmental milestones usually unthinkable for these patients. Eleven could sit unassisted at least briefly; nine could roll over. Eleven are speaking and able to swallow. Two were able to crawl, stand and then walk, Mendell's team reported.

    Those results are "very striking," said Dr. Basil Darras, who directs Boston Children's Hospital's neuromuscular center and wasn't involved in the new research.

    While the treatment needs testing on far more babies, usually "there are no further developmental gains" after diagnosis, Darras explained. "They stagnate for a while and they go downhill very fast and die."

    The only serious side effect attributed to the gene therapy so far involved possible signs of a liver problem that eased with treatment.

    NEXT STEPS

    AveXis Inc., which is developing the gene therapy and helped fund Wednesday's study, has opened a second small trial at seven hospitals.

    Meanwhile, doctors are prescribing SMA patients the new medication Spinraza, which works by increasing that backup gene's protein production and, according to a separate New England Journal study, had some benefit in about half of patients. The first year of treatment costs about $750,000, an accompanying editorial noted.

    With the drug's availability, some health groups are urging that SMA be added to the list of diseases that all newborns are screened for, so parents can seek early treatment.

    ———

    This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    This story is part of Genetic Frontiers, AP's ongoing exploration of the rapidly growing understanding of DNA and new attempts to manipulate it.

    • Star


    Source – abcnews.go.com

    Health

    Trump opioid panel wants drug courts, training for doctors

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    Trump opioid panel wants drug courts, training for doctors

    The Associated Press
    In this Oct. 26, 2017, photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks on the stage during after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump spoke on combatting drug demand and the opioid crisis in the East Room of the White House in Washington. President Donald Trump’s commission on the opioid crisis called Nov. 1, 2017, for more drug courts, more training for doctors and penalties for insurers that dodge covering addiction treatment.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

      President Donald Trump's commission on the opioid crisis called Wednesday for more drug courts, more training for doctors and penalties for insurers that dodge covering addiction treatment.

      The panel's final report stopped short, however, of calling for new dollars to address the worst drug crisis in U.S. history. Instead, the commission asked Congress for "sufficient funds" and suggested giving the White House drug czar's office the ability to review federal spending on the problem.

      "If we are to invest in combating this epidemic, we must invest in only those programs that achieve quantifiable goals and metrics," the report said. The drug czar's office "must establish a system of tracking and accountability."

      But adding a new layer of oversight was met with skepticism from addiction treatment advocates. The Office of National Drug Control Policy, known as the drug czar's office, "is not a watchdog agency," said Andrew Kessler, a behavioral health consultant in Washington, D.C.

      Trump launched the commission seven months ago, tapping his friend and former rival New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to lead the fight. Since then, it has held five meetings and, in July, issued an interim report urging the president to elevate attention by declaring a national emergency.

      Last week, Trump did so, talking in a White House speech about his brother's alcoholism and declaring the crisis a national public health emergency.

      "The president did exactly what I asked him to do," Christie said Wednesday, addressing reports that a different type of emergency declaration, one overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency would have been stronger. Christie said he wanted the Department of Health and Human Services to take the lead, not FEMA.

      "It's now incumbent on Congress to step up and put money in the public health emergency fund," Christie said. Congress hasn't replenished the fund for years and it contains just $57,000.

      More than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, most involving a prescription painkiller or an illicit opioid like heroin.

      The panel's report contained 56 new recommendations and called for streamlining funding to states by using block grants, which would give states more flexibility.

      What's missing is more money, said Dr. Mitchell Rosenthal of Phoenix House, a nonprofit addiction treatment provider. "We need significantly more funding to the states on the front lines of this crisis, otherwise they won't be able to implement the prevention and treatment programs that can save so many lives," Rosenthal said.

      The commission urged White House support for the Prescription Drug Monitoring Act, which would require states with federal grants to share information on narcotics users in a federal data-sharing hub.

      The panel recommended training doctors who prescribe opioids and allowing more emergency responders to administer overdose reversal drugs. It called for establishing drug courts in all 93 federal judicial districts to get more treatment to drug offenders rather than send them to prison.

      Alternatives to incarceration are needed, said Lindsey Vuolo of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse and author of a recent strategy guide for states.

      "It's not enough to say addiction is a disease. We have to treat it as one," Vuolo said.

      • Star


      Source – abcnews.go.com

      World

      US editor Michael Oreskes resigns after harassment claims

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      US editor Michael Oreskes resigns after harassment claims

      Image copyright AFP
      Image caption A current NPR employee has gone public about a formal complaint she filed against Mr Oreskes

      A senior editor accused of kissing female colleagues without their consent during business meetings has resigned.

      Michael Oreskes, 63, was asked to step down by the National Public Radio (NPR) network in response to the allegations.

      The incidents allegedly occurred in the late 1990s, when Mr Oreskes worked at the New York Times.

      He has not commented publicly on the allegations, and journalists at NPR report that they have tried to contact him for comment, without success.

      The network says the allegations were addressed in an email to staff on Wednesday. "This morning I asked Mike Oreskes for his resignation because of inappropriate behaviour," NPR CEO Jarl Mohn wrote.

      He said the resignation was "effective immediately".

      Two women spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity, and reported stories of abrupt and unexpected kisses during business meetings. They said they were worried about career development if their names were made public.

      One of the women said that while she met Mr Oreskes in the hope of getting a job with the New York Times, he suggested that they eat room service lunch in a hotel, before he unexpectedly kissed her and "slipped his tongue into her mouth".

      She told the paper: "The worst part of my whole encounter with Oreskes wasn't the weird offers of room service lunch or the tongue kiss but the fact that he utterly destroyed my ambition."

      Image copyright AFP
      Image caption NPR hired Michael Oreskes as senior vice president for news in 2015

      The second woman said she met Mr Oreskes after he offered to help review her work.

      She drove him to the airport as he had a flight to catch after their meeting, but he unexpectedly kissed her while saying goodbye.

      "I was frozen. I was shocked. I thought, 'What just happened?'" she recalled.

      Later, she said, when she confronted him directly about the incident, he told her he was "overcome with passion".

      The Washington Post said it had made "multiple requests for comment" to Mr Oreskes, but none had been answered.

      Meanwhile, a third woman, a current NPR employee, has detailed a formal complaint she filed against Mr Oreskes with the network back in 2015 after a business advice session she had with him turned into a long evening dinner.

      She said he divulged many personal details and veered into topics including relationships and sex. He did not touch her inappropriately, she said, and she was satisfied by the response when she reported the incident to NPR.

      Mr Oreskes, who had senior editorial roles at the New York Times and Associated Press, was hired as senior vice president for news at NPR in 2015.

      There have been growing sexual harassment allegations against public figures in recent weeks, sparked by multiple women's allegations of behaviour from sexual harassment to rape by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and a subsequent campaign encouraging victims to share their stories under the #metoo hashtag.


      Source – bbc.com

      Lifestyle

      5 Reasons Difficult Roads Lead to Beautiful Destinations In Life

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      “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The best is yet to come.” – Zig Ziglar

      Life is filled with many obstacles, and sometimes, it seems impossible just to stay afloat. With constant pressure on us to perform at work, keep up with chores at home, and also maintain our personal lives, there’s no end in sight to life’s tests. Every morning many of us wake up with a sense of dread because of the inevitable stress we will have to endure, but if you shift your perspective a bit, you’ll see that every day is another opportunity to change our lives. Every new day brings with it a chance to start anew and maybe see the light shining through the clouds. Maybe we go through hardships in life in order to fully appreciate the beauty surrounding us every day.

      So, next time you feel destined to break, try to keep in mind these reasons why the hard times often bring us to better days ahead.

      5 Reasons Why Difficult Roads Lead to Beautiful Destinations

      1. We can’t appreciate the good without enduring the bad.

      Like we said above, the hard times in life are a blessing in disguise, because they allow us to be more grateful for the good times. We have to go through a storm to see the rainbow, so remember that next time you want to give up. Once the storm passes, the sun will shine once again, and you’ll see that the challenges you faced were totally worth it. Plus, enduring difficult times makes us more resilient people, which will help us the next time we encounter road blocks in life.

      2. Perseverance leads to victory.

      You might have to climb mountains and traverse an arid desert before you reach an oasis, but eventually, you will reach your goal. If you want something badly enough, life will reward you with it as long as you work hard and don’t throw in the towel. Many people may have traveled the road before you and gotten off due to weariness and frustration, but little did they know that if they had walked to the end, they’d find a spectacular treasure. You might only have a mile left to go, but if you call it quits at the end, you’ll never know how close you were to success.

      3. It teaches us patience.

      Patience is a virtue, and unfortunately, one that many people have forgotten in today’s world. We live in a culture of instant gratification where no one wants to work for anything – they just want it handed to them. However, for those who don’t surrender when the going gets tough, they get to experience the gift of allowing life to happen rather than forcing it. In other words, people who go through the hard times rather than going around them will gain the gift of patience and acceptance for their situation. Once they’ve passed the test, so to speak, they will arrive at a new place in their own minds – a place of peace and nonresistance towards whatever is happening around them. Maybe their lives won’t drastically change, but they will have reached a new level mentally, and that’s what really matters in the end.

      4. Life is incredibly ironic.

      Life requires great sacrifice and an understanding of the duality of the universe. It takes sadness to know happiness, pain to know pleasure, and weakness to know strength. It also takes the hard times to know the good times, which is precisely why the most difficult roads will lead to the most beautiful destinations. For example, if you want to start a business of some sort, you’ll have to work long hours the first few years, but the payoff will be worth it because of the sacrifice you made. Keep things in perspective so that you don’t get discouraged.

      5. It shows you what you want and don’t want in life.

      Let’s just say that the difficult road you’ve been walking down is a dead-end job. So, it wouldn’t make sense to continue down a road that doesn’t lead to another, would it? Exactly. But, you had to walk that path to know that it wasn’t right for you in the first place. The bumpy roads we often walk down toughen up our feet, but they also help to illuminate our true path. Choosing the wrong path on the fork in the road isn’t a waste of time; in fact, it just helps you deepen your understanding of yourself and lead you to the right path.

      Final thoughts…

      For many, it seems that the hard times never end. They wake up to the same job they hate, the same bills making them broke, and the same people testing their patience. When will it ever get better? Well, to be honest, it might just require a shift in perspective in order to see that things could be a lot worse, or you might need to change things in your life in order to find happiness. Whatever the solution, you would’ve never found it had you not gone through trials in life. Remember, you can’t see the stars without the darkness of the night sky.

      (C)Power of Positivity, LLC. All rights reserved
      Sources:
      https://www.powerofpositivity.com/11-quotes-remember-everything-going-wrong/
      https://www.powerofpositivity.com/11-quotes-remember-feel-like-giving-up/

      The post 5 Reasons Difficult Roads Lead to Beautiful Destinations In Life appeared first on Power of Positivity: Positive Thinking & Attitude.


      Source – powerofpositivity.com

      Business

      Who will win and lose if interest rate rises?

      e1fb6c046912b78e205cae5b6ddb62a804c1f0e9f9b5e75a21f8bfb0fe7b1cf9_4069007
      The Bank of England is seen through the columns on the Royal Exchange building in London, August 2016

      It is hard to think of another Bank of England decision that is simultaneously as momentous and as inconsequential as this one.

      The mere fact that the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to raise interest rates this month is a landmark moment all of its own.

      It would be the first time rates have been lifted in a decade – a watershed after a period in which borrowing costs dropped to the lowest level on record.

      And for many economists, it is only the start of a long road that might take rates back up towards a more normal level (though this will almost certainly be lower than the pre-crisis "normal" of about 5%).

      But, on the basis of other measures, an interest rate rise is likely to have little impact. In part that is because, for all the headlines recently about levels of indebtedness, Britons' overall household debt levels have actually dropped a fair bit in recent years.

      A decade ago in the summer of 2007, the last time the Bank raised rates, the average UK household had £1.44 of debt for every pound of savings they had in the bank. Today, that ratio has dropped to £1.13 of debt for every pound of savings.

      Yes, that number has started to rise recently thanks to an increase in consumer credit lending, but only very slightly – and it is a long way shy of its pre-crisis peak.

      :: Interest rate rise looms next month after lift in economic growth

      Ed Conway explains interest rates
      Pushing the button on interest rates

      Then there's the question of how many people will feel an instant impact of the Bank's decision – the "transmission mechanism", to use the economic terminology. Here, too, things have changed.

      Five years ago, 73% of the population had floating rate mortgages – in other words, loans where rates would instantly go up by 0.25% or near enough as soon as the Bank did likewise.

      Today, only 43% of mortgage holders have floating rate loans – the lowest proportion in history. That's the total stock of loans across the UK, many of which will be smaller loans.

      The reality for recent homebuyers (the ones with the bigger loans) is even more stark in the most recent quarter. A whopping 94% of mortgages were issued with fixed rates – the highest proportion in history.

      Long story short: fewer people than ever before will be affected on day one.

      None of this is to say that higher interest rates won't take their toll. It just underlines that the impact will be gradual and subtle, rather than immediate.

      But as anyone who has experienced debt problems before will know, that is precisely the way individual debt problems mount.

      :: Interest rate rise should not be feared, says Bank of England economist

      Bank of England keeps interest rates at record low
      Bank of England will be 'cautious' on rates

      You face a short-term problem – say your rent going up, your job being lost or hours being cut, and you borrow a little bit to tide you over.

      Then things get worse, not better. Your debt costs rack up further and you find yourself mired in debt you can no longer see an escape from.

      It is a lonely, miserable experience, and something many families in the country struggle with.

      And that is the important point about rising interest rates. The Bank is not worried about a nationwide debt crisis, or an abrupt implosion of demand as it increases the cost of borrowing. However, it is concerned about small pockets of trouble across the country.

      In particular, low income households are likely to be most exposed – families who have had to borrow to absorb the cost of rising food and fuel prices, who have seen their real wages slide, and are now facing extra pressure from the benefits squeeze. It is they who will be most affected by rising rates.

      Again, this may not happen overnight: indeed, of all the interest rates out there in the market, those on credit cards and payday loans are perhaps least affected by Bank rate itself. But any increase in the cost of borrowing is unlikely to help.

      Mark Carney argues the Bank of England's influence is limited
      Mark Carney argues the Bank of England's influence is limited

      Finally, what about savers? Well, this is where things get interesting.

      On the one hand, savers have had a torrid time over the past few years – especially those expecting to live off the interest on their savings.

      On the other hand, the vast majority of other asset prices have gone up dramatically in that period: share prices, house prices (although mostly house prices in London), bond prices.

      Moreover, savers have benefited from an unusual phenomenon in recent years.

      Most of the time, the interest rates you're paid on your savings is below the official Bank rate.

      For instance, between 1999 and 2008, the average rate on an instant access savings account was 2.2 percentage points below the official Bank rate – and the rate on a long-term savings account was 0.6% below Bank rate.

      Since the crisis, the average instant access savings account has paid 0.24 percentage points above Bank rate while the average long-term account has paid 1.66 percentage points above the official rate.

      This is largely down to the fact that Britain's banks have spent this period trying to rebuild their balance sheets by attempting to lure in new customer deposits.

      In other words, while it hasn't been a great time to be a saver, it hasn't been quite as bad as the official Bank rate suggests.

      Which raises another question: if and when the official rate starts going up, do the savings rates themselves also increase, or do they stay where they are?

      More UK analysis

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      Source – News.sky.com