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Slow flow of human immigration may have doomed Neanderthals

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Slow flow of human immigration may have doomed Neanderthals

The Associated Press
FILE – In this Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 file photo, visitors take pictures of models representing Flores, human and Neanderthal women in the "Musee des Confluences", a new science and anthropology museum in Lyon, central France. Neanderthals had a long run in Europe and Asia, but they disappeared about 40,000 years ago after modern humans showed up from Africa. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

    What killed off the Neanderthals? It's a big debate, and now a study says that no matter what the answer, they were doomed anyway.

    Our close evolutionary cousins enjoyed a long run in Europe and Asia, but they disappeared about 40,000 years ago after modern humans showed up from Africa.

    The search for an explanation has produced many theories including climate change, epidemics, or inability to compete with the modern humans, who may have had some mental or cultural edge.

    The new study isn't intended to argue against those factors, but just to show that they're not needed to explain the extinction, says Oren Kolodny of Stanford University.

    He and colleague Marcus Feldman present their approach in a paper released Tuesday by the journal Nature Communications.

    They based their conclusion on a computer simulation that represented small bands of Neanderthals and modern humans in Europe and Asia. These local populations were randomly chosen to go extinct, and then be replaced by another randomly chosen population, with no regard for whether it represented the same species.

    Neither species was assumed to have any inherent advantage, but there was one crucial difference: Unlike the Neanderthals, the modern humans were supplemented by reinforcements coming in from Africa. It wasn't a huge wave, but rather "a tiny, tiny trickle of small bands," Kolodny said.

    Still, that was enough to tip the balance against the Neanderthals. They generally went extinct when the simulation was run more than a million times under a variety of assumptions.

    If survival was a game of chance, "it was rigged by the fact that there's recurring migration," Kolodny said. "The game was doomed to end with the Neanderthals losing."

    Kolodny said the evidence that such migrations actually occurred is suggestive rather than conclusive. Such migrations would not be expected to leave much of an archaeological trace, he said.

    Experts in human origins said the paper could help scientists pin down the various factors that led to the Neanderthals' demise. It fits in with other recent attempts to explain the extinction without assuming behavioral differences between Neanderthals and our ancestors, said Wil Roebroeks of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. The notion of such differences is largely disproven, he said.

    Katerina Harvati of the University of Tuebingen in Germany said while the new work could be useful in solving the extinction mystery, it doesn't address the question of why modern humans dispersed from Africa into Europe and Asia. It's important to figure out what was behind that, she said in an email.

    ———

    Follow Malcolm Ritter at @MalcolmRitter His recent work can be found here.

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    Source – abcnews.go.com

    Technology

    North Korea calls UK WannaCry accusations ‘wicked’

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    North Korea calls UK WannaCry accusations 'wicked'

    Image copyright WEBROOT
    Image caption WannaCry spread to more than 150 countries in a worldwide attack

    North Korea has hit back at the UK government for accusing it of being behind a massive ransomware attack that badly affected the National Health Service (NHS).

    A UK government minister last week told the BBC he was "as sure as possible" North Korea was behind the attack.

    But a North Korean spokesman called the accusations "groundless speculation".

    More than a third of NHS trusts in England were disrupted by the WannaCry ransomware in May.

    At least 19,000 appointments were cancelled and computers in over 600 doctor's surgeries infected.

    WannaCry was the biggest cyber-attack to have hit the NHS to date and also spread to more than 150 countries.

    • Cyber-attack: Your questions answered
    • WannaCry: What can you do to protect your business?
    • Malware, patches and worms defined

    A spokesman for the North's Korea-Europe Association called the UK's accusation "a wicked attempt" to tighten international sanctions on the country.

    "This is an act beyond the limit of our tolerance and it makes us question the real purpose behind the UK's move," he said in comments carried on the Korean Central News Agency on Monday.

    The South Korean government believes the North has a unit of 6,800 trained cyber-warfare specialists.

    Pyongyang's cyber military was thought to be behind an online attack on Sony Pictures and a hack last year in which blueprints of a South Korean warship company were stolen.


    Source – bbc.com

    Technology

    UN environment chief: US likely to live up to Paris accord

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    UN environment chief: US likely to live up to Paris accord

    The Associated Press
    FILE – In this April 3, 2014 file photo giant machines dig for brown coal at the open-cast mining Garzweiler in front of a power plant near the city of Grevenbroich in western Germany. A U.N.’s environment report Tuesday Oct. 31, 2017 says countries and industries need to do more to meet targets to trim emissions of greenhouse gases that experts say are contributing to global warming. In its latest “Emissions Gap” report issued ahead of an important climate conference in Germany next week, UNEP takes aim at coal-fired electricity plants being built in developing economies and says investment in renewable energies will pay for itself _ and even make money _ over the long term. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

      The head of the U.N. environment program said Tuesday the United States is likely to live up to the Paris climate deal despite President Donald Trump's planned pullout, because "all the big American companies" are working toward greener operations.

      The comments from UNEP executive director Erik Solheim came as the U.N. agency presented its latest "Emissions Gap" report , which gives a scientific assessment about how national efforts are affecting the greenhouse gas emission trend.

      The report's release ahead of a crucial climate meeting next week in Bonn, Germany, aims to inject new momentum to the Paris accord and even strengthen it in 2020.

      Trump, however, has vowed to pull out the U.S. because he insists it's unfair to the United States.

      U.N. officials are increasingly citing the role of companies in the fight against climate change.

      "There is one question that I get more often than any other question wherever I go on the planet and it is a very simple one. It is: 'What about Donald Trump?'" Solheim told a panel in Geneva by videoconference from Nairobi.

      "In all likelihood, the United States of America will live up to its Paris commitment, not because of the White House, but because of the private sector," he said. "All the big American companies are dedicated to go in the green direction."

      But UNEP said countries and industries still need to do more to meet targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions that experts say contribute to global warming. The report criticizes coal-fired electricity plants being built in emerging economies, and insists that investment in renewable energies will pay for itself — and even make money — over the long term.

      "The Paris agreement boosted climate action, but momentum is clearly faltering," said Edgar Gutierrez-Espeleta, Costa Rica's environment minister who heads the 2017 U.N. Environment Assembly. "We face a stark choice: Up our ambition, or suffer the consequences."

      The Paris accord aims to cap global temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius (Fahrenheit) by the year 2100 compared to average world temperatures at the start of the industrial era — and even hopes to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees C.

      UNEP says trends suggest that even if current national commitments are met, a temperature increase of 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century is "very likely — meaning that governments need to deliver much stronger pledges when they are revised in 2020."

      "Should the United States follow through with its stated intention to leave the Paris agreement in 2020, the picture could become even bleaker," UNEP said.

      Lead author John Christensen of U.N. Environment noted some U.S. states like California were "acting independently of what the White House decides." He said Trump's bid to peel back constraints on the coal industry won't mark a major shift because "it simply doesn't pay off."

      He also said the U.S. targets in the Paris accord, as agreed by the Obama administration, were "not that ambitious in the first place."

      But Christensen told the Geneva panel that the Trump administration's impact on efforts could affect "negotiation dynamics" with other countries and embolden "what I call 'noise-makers:' they are the ones that are opposed to the basic idea" of fighting climate change.

      Bob Ward, an expert on climate change policy at the London School of Economics, agreed that the coal industry is "unlikely to be revived in the United States because it is being displaced by cleaner and cheaper sources of energy."

      "Many countries now recognize that the transition to a low-carbon economy will generate sustainable growth and development, with lower poverty and higher living standards," he said. "High-carbon economies look increasingly uncompetitive."

      A new round of U.N. climate talks known as COP 23 starts in Bonn, Germany, on Monday, when countries will take stock of their achievements and prepare more ambitious national goals.

      On the positive, UNEP highlighted "rapidly expanding mitigation action" and says carbon-dioxide emissions have remained stable since 2014, thanks partly to renewable energy use in China and India. It cautioned that other greenhouse gases like methane continue to rise, however.

      UNEP has trumpeted solar and wind energy, efficient appliances and cars, and efforts to preserve forests. Solheim cited tests this week on the world's first solar-powered railroad in Australia and the launch of a hydrogen-run subway system in northern China.

      "We are at the watershed moment: We have stopped the rise in CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions — there is every reason to believe we can bring them down," Solheim said. "The train is on the right track, but our duty is to speed it up."

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      Source – abcnews.go.com

      Health

      Maine Medicaid expansion vote seen as ‘Obamacare’ referendum

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      Maine Medicaid expansion vote seen as 'Obamacare' referendum

      The Associated Press
      In this Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, photo, Bethany Miller poses for a photo as she holds a photo album with her late son Kyle Wilson and his daughter on the cover in Jay, Maine. Miller said her son, who died from a diabetic coma, would've been among those in Maine who could benefit if voters on Nov. 7 demand a Medicaid expansion. "He had a job, but he didn’t make enough money to pay for his basic needs and his insulin, and he couldn't live without his insulin," said Miller. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

        The roiling national debate over the government's proper role in health care is coming to a head in a state more commonly known for moose, lobster and L.L. Bean.

        On Nov. 7, voters in Maine will decide whether to join 31 other states and expand Medicaid under former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. It is the first time since the law took effect nearly four years ago that the expansion question has been put to voters.

        The ballot measure comes after Maine's Republican governor vetoed five attempts by the politically divided Legislature to expand the program and take advantage of the federal government picking up most of the cost.

        It also acts as a bookend to a year in which President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans tried and failed repeatedly to repeal Obama's law.

        Activists on both sides of the issue are looking at the initiative, Maine Question 2, as a sort of national referendum on one of the key pillars of the law, commonly known as Obamacare. Roughly 11 million people nationwide have gained coverage through the expansion of Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for lower-income Americans.

        Republican consultant Lance Dutson called Maine's initiative a national bellwether in which the needs of the people could trump political ideology.

        "People believe there are good parts to Obamacare and bad parts to Obamacare. And without taking Medicaid expansion, we are leaving one of the good parts on the table while still suffering from the bad parts of it," said Dutson, who supports Question 2.

        Maine may not be the last state to put the Medicaid question before voters. Expansion proponents in Idaho and Utah have launched similar efforts in those states aimed at the 2018 ballot.

        If the initiative passes, an estimated 70,000 people in Maine would gain health coverage. The issue is personal to many in an aging, economically struggling state with a population that is smaller than the city of San Diego.

        Nature painter Laura Tasheiko got dropped from Medicaid three years ago after successfully battling breast cancer. Since then, she has relied on the charitable services of a hospital near her home in Northport, a seaside village of less than 2,000 people about 100 miles northeast of Portland.

        She worries about having another serious health problem before she is eligible for Medicare when she turns 65 next year.

        "Some of the after-effects of the chemo can be severe, like heart failure," she said. "Having no insurance is really scary."

        Maine's hospitals support the Medicaid expansion and say charity care costs them over $100 million annually. The initiative's supporters have reported spending about $2 million on their campaign, with hundreds of thousands of dollars coming from out-of-state groups. By comparison, the lead political action committee established to oppose the measure has spent a bit less than $300,000.

        Among those who say Maine will benefit from the expansion is Bethany Miller. She said her adult son, Kyle, needed Medicaid because he couldn't afford subsidized monthly insurance premiums even though he was working.

        She remembers watching as her son's eyes went hollow and his body turned skeletal in the weeks before he died, at age 25, from a diabetic coma a year ago.

        "He had a job, but he didn't make enough money to pay for his basic needs and his insulin, and he couldn't live without his insulin," said Miller, who lives in Jay, a small paper mill town about 70 miles north of Portland.

        LePage, a Trump supporter, is lobbying furiously against the initiative. He and other critics warn that the expansion will be too costly for Maine, even with the federal government picking up most of the tab. After 2020, the state's share of paying for the expansion population would be 10 percent.

        LePage warns that he would have to divert $54 million from other programs — for the elderly, disabled and children — to pay for Medicaid expansion.

        "It's going to kill this state," he said.

        LePage said he considers Medicaid another form of welfare and wants to require recipients to work and pay premiums.

        Maine currently serves about 268,000 Medicaid recipients, down from 354,000 in 2011. LePage credits the drop to his administration's tightened eligibility restrictions.

        If Question 2 passes, the Medicaid expansion would cover adults under age 65 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That's $16,643 for a single person or $22,412 for a family of two.

        State Rep. Deborah Sanderson, a Republican, said Maine is already struggling to serve its rapidly aging population as nursing homes shutter and rural hospitals struggle.

        "I get accused on occasion of trying to pit one population of folks against another," she said. "It's a case of only having a certain amount of resources to take care of a large number of needs."

        Finances are a concern in a state marked by factory closures and sluggish wage growth.

        But with more people living on the margins, advocates of the expansion say that is all the more reason to extend the benefits of Medicaid. About 8 percent of Maine residents do not have insurance, a little less than the national percentage.

        Democratic Sen. Geoffrey Gratwick, a retired rheumatologist, said he has seen many patients throughout his career who did not have health insurance and came to him with a disease already in its late stages. He voted for all five Medicaid expansion attempts.

        "They are just as good people as you or I, but their lives will be shorter and they will be sicker," he said. "Compassion, common sense and our economic interest demand that we get them the health care they need."

        Nathalie Arruda and her husband, Michael, are in that group that is sometimes without insurance. They live in the farming community of Orland, halfway between New Hampshire and the state's eastern border with New Brunswick, Canada.

        The couple run a computer business and rely on herbal teas and locally grown greens to stay healthy as they fall in and out of Medicaid eligibility. LePage restricted Medicaid eligibility for adults with dependents, like the Arrudas.

        "There have absolutely been times when my husband or I have put off getting something looked at that we probably should have because we didn't have coverage," Arruda said.

        In Miller's view, her son would still be alive if LePage had signed one of the Medicaid expansion bills sent to him by the Legislature.

        When Kyle turned 21, he was one of thousands who lost MaineCare coverage under the governor's reforms. She said he juggled construction jobs but couldn't afford his $80 subsidized monthly premium for private insurance.

        He struggled to pay medical bills from emergency room visits, Miller said.

        Before Kyle died last November, he had landed a steady job at a plastics factory that promised health insurance. He didn't live long enough to get the coverage, falling into a diabetic coma.

        "He started rationing his insulin so he could buy food," his mother said. "And it cost him his life."

        ———

        Follow Marina Villeneuve on Twitter at https://twitter.com/marinav13

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        Source – abcnews.go.com

        Entertainment

        ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host Vanna White on Pat Sajak, why she loves her job

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        6,500 dresses later: 'Wheel of Fortune' host Vanna White on 35 years with Pat Sajak, why she loves her job

        PlayABC News

        WATCH 35 Years later: 'Wheel of Fortune' host Vanna White on Pat Sajak, loving her job

          With the letter “T,” Vanna White made her first appearance on the game show, “Wheel of Fortune” on Dec. 13, 1982.

          Now 35 years and 6,500 gowns later, White is still helping to solve the puzzle and loving it.

          “I get all dressed up like a Barbie doll. I go out. I give someone else’s money away, make them happy, and we all go home,” White, 60, told ABC News’ “Nightline.” “In show business, no, there’s nothing else I want to do. Is that bad?”

          “Wheel of Fortune” is now celebrating its 35th season. White and host Pat Sajak shoot six shows a day, just four days a month.

          PHOTO: Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune during the B as in Best Friends episode of Fresh Off The Boat, Oct. 3, 2017.Eric McCandless/ABC
          Vanna White on "Wheel of Fortune" during the 'B as in Best Friends' episode of "Fresh Off The Boat," Oct. 3, 2017.

          “Somewhere along the line, we became more than a popular show. We became part of the popular culture,” Sajak told “Nightline.”

          And White is very much a part of that influence on pop culture. Since first appearing on “Wheel of Fortune,” White, a once aspiring model from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has carried the Olympic torch and appeared on magazine covers.

          She’s in the Guinness Book of Records for most frequent clapper: “They say I have clapped more than 3.9 million times,” said White.” And Merriam-Webster is even considering adding “Vanna White” as a verb to its dictionary. “To Vanna White means to present,” White added, gesturing her signature move.

          White was also immortalized in rapper Nelly’s song, “Ride Wit Me,” with the verse, “I be on the next flight, paying cash, first class, sitting next to Vanna White.”

          “I was at a party. He was there. I went up to him. I said, ‘Did I sit next to you on a plane?’ He said, ‘No, it just rhymed,’” White recalled.

          PHOTO: Wheel of Fortune hosts Vanna White and Pat Sajak attend a taping of the Wheel of Fortunes 35th Anniversary at Walt Disney World, Oct. 10, 2017, in Orlando, Florida.Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
          "Wheel of Fortune" hosts Vanna White and Pat Sajak attend a taping of the Wheel of Fortune's 35th Anniversary at Walt Disney World, Oct. 10, 2017, in Orlando, Florida.

          The fame also led to her feature in Playboy, which published lingerie photos shot when she was an aspiring actress, well before she first appeared on “Wheel of Fortune.”

          "I had done some pictures, some lingerie shots to pay the rent because I was too embarrassed to ask my dad for rent money. When I became famous, Hugh Hefner decided to put me on the cover. He was a friend of mine,” White recalled. “I said, ‘Hef, if you put these pictures on the cover, it could ruin my career. And he still put them on there … I didn’t go to the mansion anymore after that.”

          Both White and Sajak say they still can’t believe they’ve been on TV for 35 years.

          “You know, I have no clue [how] and I’ve given up trying to figure out why. We’re playing hangman on TV is what we’re doing,” said Sajak.

          White has never worn a dress more than once, and she says she tries on at least 50 dresses in a day before picking her outfits for the show. She has 10 minutes in between show tapings to change into the gowns that she has to return after wearing.

          “I like wearing the short ones best,” White admitted of her dress preferences. “Just because I don’t trip.”

          White is signed up for “Wheel of Fortune” for at least three more years. And her job earns her a reported $4 million a year.

          “I’m a businesswoman. You know, I have other investments too, real estate,” said White. “A long time ago, I would buy a house and flip it. But now everybody does that so I don’t do that anymore because there’s no houses out there to buy.”

          PHOTO: Vanna White speaks to Nightline about her real estate investments. ABC News
          Vanna White speaks to "Nightline" about her real estate investments.

          For someone who’s been on TV for so long, White admits she’s a private person.

          “I’m shy. I’m not outgoing. I’m a homebody,” White said. “I am on TV, but you know, it’s interesting. How much do I talk on TV?”

          And when she’s not on TV, White loves to crochet and work out in her home gym. She’s also known among her friends for her billiards skills.

          White, who got divorced in 2002, has two children with her ex-husband, and she now has a boyfriend named John, whom she’s been with for six years.

          “We get along terrific. He's like a male version of me. We get each other. He's kind. He's a happy man. He's successful and he's attractive. I met him through my best friend,” White said of her boyfriend.

          Back home in South Carolina, White’s 92-year-old father, whom she calls every day, still watches “Wheel of Fortune” every day to see her and Sajak.

          White says she and Sajak have only had one fight ever. The disagreement was over putting ketchup on her hot dog.

          “I put ketchup on my hot dog. He does not like that,” White said laughing. “It wasn’t too long ago, actually. He thought it was absolutely disgusting.”

          PHOTO: Vanna White speaks about her Dec. 13, 1982 debut on the game show, Wheel of Fortune.ABC News
          Vanna White speaks about her Dec. 13, 1982 debut on the game show, "Wheel of Fortune."

          “She has no prison time stories to talk about. I've walked around the entire person and there's not a bad side there,” Sajak said. “I’ve checked. I've looked. I've inspected. I've had outside experts come in. She is who she is.”

          “Wheel of Fortune” executive producer Harry Friedman says he’s never thought about replacing White.

          “When I joined the show, Vanna was already 35. Oh my God. She must be past her prime at 35,” Friedman joked to “Nightline.”

          “If you say to Vanna, ‘What do you do for a living?’ She won’t say, ‘Well, I’m a facilitator, and I hope to one day direct it.’ She goes, ‘You know, I touch a letter and they light up,’” Sajak said.

          Though it may not appear to be the most feminist job in the world, White says she feels that she holds her own on the show.

          “I don’t think people look at it that way anymore. They think of me and Pat as a team, as a couple that put on a good show,” White said. “I’ll be the first to make fun of what I do, absolutely. Because it’s a crazy job, but I love my job, and it’s great. And I think it brings a lot of happiness to people.”

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          World

          Syrian man ‘planned bomb attack’ in Germany

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          Syrian man 'planned bomb attack' in Germany

          Image copyright AFP
          Image caption German police have been on high alert to the threat of militant attacks

          A 19-year-old Syrian man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning a bomb attack.

          The man, identified as Yamen A, is suspected to have "concretely prepared an Islamist-motivated attack using very powerful explosives", police said.

          Several apartments were searched in the town of Schwerin, in north-eastern Germany, where he was arrested.

          Germany has been on high alert since December 2016 when 12 people died in a lorry attack in Berlin.

          Police say the suspect had made a decision "no later than July 2017 to explode a bomb in Germany with the aim of killing and wounding as many people as possible".

          He began to acquire the chemical products and materials necessary to build a bomb, they said, but it was not clear whether he had a target in mind.

          It is not known whether he has any links to terror organisations, police said on Tuesday.


          Source – bbc.com

          World

          India uncles convicted of raping and impregnating child, aged 10

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          India uncles convicted of raping and impregnating child, aged 10

          Image copyright Getty Images
          Image caption Campaigners say 50% of abusers are known to the child or are "persons in trust and care-givers"

          A fast-track court in India has convicted two men of raping a 10-year-old girl who gave birth to a baby girl in August.

          Both the men were the child's uncles. The sentencing is set for Thursday.

          Her pregnancy was discovered in mid-July when she complained of a stomach ache and her parents took her to hospital.

          The second uncle was arrested after the baby's DNA sample did not match that of his older brother, the first suspect.

          The final arguments were completed by the defence on Monday. On Tuesday, the two men were declared guilty in court.

          The older uncle's trial took a month, while the younger uncle has been convicted in a remarkable 18-day trial, BBC Punjabi's Arvind Chhabra reports from Chandigarh.

          • The pregnant child caught in a media storm
          • No abortion for 10-year-old rape victim
          • Raped girl's baby 'was fathered by uncle'

          The harrowing case of the 10-year-old has made headlines for weeks, both in India and globally.

          She was 30 weeks pregnant when a local court in Chandigarh turned down her abortion plea on the grounds that her pregnancy was too advanced. A doctors' panel had advised that a medical termination would be "too risky". Later, the Supreme Court also refused to allow an abortion for her on similar grounds.

          Indian law does not allow terminations after 20 weeks unless doctors certify that the mother's life is in danger.

          The girl was not aware of her pregnancy, and was told her bulge was because she had a stone in her stomach, says the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi. She gave birth in August and the baby was given away to child welfare authorities for adoption.

          The girl initially told police and child welfare activists that she had been raped several times in the past seven months by the first uncle, who is in his 40s.

          She had also testified to the court by video link and very clearly named the uncle and revealed details about her abuse.

          The girl's father had told the BBC that the first uncle had not denied the charges against him. Police also said he had admitted to the allegations.

          But after his DNA test results did not link him to the baby, police began searching for more suspects – and arrested the second uncle in September. A DNA test confirmed that he was the baby's father.

          Image copyright AFP
          Image caption India is home to 400 million children (file picture)

          The country's courts have received several petitions in recent months, many from child rape survivors, seeking permission to abort.

          In most cases, these pregnancies are discovered late because the children themselves are not aware of their condition.

          In September, a 13-year-old girl was given court permission to terminate her pregnancy at 32 weeks. The boy she was carrying was born alive in Mumbai but died two days later.

          In May, a similar case was reported from the northern state of Haryana where a 10-year-old, allegedly raped by her stepfather, was allowed to abort. She was about 20 weeks pregnant, doctors said.

          None of the girls can be named for legal reasons.

          The scale of abuse in India

          • A child under 16 is raped every 155 minutes, a child under 10 every 13 hours
          • More than 10,000 children were raped in 2015
          • 240 million women living in India were married before they turned 18
          • 53.22% of children who participated in a government study reported some form of sexual abuse
          • 50% of abusers are known to the child or are "persons in trust and care-givers"

          Sources: Indian government, Unicef


          Source – bbc.com

          World

          Eurozone growth exceeds expectations

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          Eurozone growth exceeds expectations

          Image copyright Reuters

          The eurozone's economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to September, above analysts' expectations, according to EU statistics office Eurostat.

          For the past 12 months, the growth rate was 2.5%, Eurostat said.

          Last month, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its 2017 growth forecast for the 19-nation eurozone to 2.2%, the fastest in 10 years.

          Eurostat also said eurozone unemployment was 8.9% in September, the lowest rate for nearly nine years.

          Analysis: Andrew Walker, economics correspondent

          The overall message from these figures reinforces the picture of a eurozone economy that is, at last, gaining some strength. It's a reasonably good growth figure and the gradual decline in unemployment continues.

          That said, the jobless numbers are still high, painfully so in some countries. And inflation remains too low, at least in the view of the European Central Bank.

          The problem (or one of them) with very low inflation is that it's harder for a central bank to respond effectively if there is an economic downturn.

          So, much as the ECB will welcome the growth picture, it will continue its efforts (ultra-low interest rates and "quantitative easing") to get prices rising a bit faster for some time to come.

          The agency estimated that inflation in the eurozone had fallen to 1.4% in October, down from 1.5% in September.

          That puts it well below the 2% inflation target set by the European Central Bank.

          France sees boost

          Separate figures for the French economy show it grew 0.5% in the three months to September.

          French statistics agency INSEE said the rise in the eurozone's second-biggest economy was driven by higher household consumption and rising investment.

          INSEE said consumer spending in the country increased by 0.5% in the third quarter, after a 0.3% rise in the previous quarter. Investment went up by 0.8%, after a 1% increase in the second quarter.

          France saw growth of 0.6% in the second quarter and 0.5% in the first quarter. It expects 1.8% growth this year.

          Meanwhile, figures issued by the Greek statistics service Elstat showed that Greece's economy returned to growth in the first three months of 2017.

          GDP increased by 0.4% in the period compared with the final quarter of 2016, when it contracted by 1.1%.


          Source – bbc.com

          World

          John Kelly: US Civil War caused by ‘lack of compromise’

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          John Kelly: US Civil War caused by 'lack of compromise'

          Image copyright Drew Angerer/Getty Images

          President Trump's chief of staff, General John Kelly, claims an inability to compromise caused the American Civil War.

          Speaking to Fox News, Gen Kelly was discussing efforts to remove Confederate monuments and symbols.

          Confederate symbols have been a source of controversy in the US. Some see them as an offensive reminder of America's history of slavery while others view their removal as an effort to subvert US history and southern culture.

          His remarks prompted a furious discussion on social media. The phrase "Civil War" was trending in the US – used more than 30,000 times on Twitter since Mr Kelly made his remarks on Monday night.

          Chelsea Clinton and Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, were among those to voice their opposition.

          Image Copyright @ChelseaClinton @ChelseaClinton Report
          Twitter post by @ChelseaClinton: General Kelly, there is no “compromise” regarding slavery. Ever. And, the Constitution’s original 3/5ths Compromise was an abomination. Image Copyright @ChelseaClinton @ChelseaClinton Report

          Gen Kelly also described Confederate general Robert E Lee as "an honourable man" who "gave up his country to fight for his state".

          "There are certain things in history that were good, and other things that were not so good," he said.

          "I think we make a mistake as a society, and certainly as individuals, when we take what is accepted as right and wrong, and go back 100, 200, 300 years or more and say, 'What Christopher Columbus did was wrong,'

          "The lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War. And men and women of good faith on both sides made their stand where their conscience has to make their stand."

          Image Copyright @BerniceKing @BerniceKing Report
          Twitter post by @BerniceKing: It’s irresponsible & dangerous, especially when white supremacists feel emboldened, to make fighting to maintain slavery sound courageous. Image Copyright @BerniceKing @BerniceKing Report

          The secession of southern states in 1860-61, and ensuing armed conflict until 1865, came after decades of growing animosity over the issue of slavery, and the election of Abraham Lincoln, who was explicit in his opposition to slavery, as President in 1860.

          Speaking to the BBC in May, three prominent historians of the American Civil War said there was a consensus that slavery was the key reason for the civil war.

          Jim Grossman, from the American Historical Association, told the BBC: "When people say it was about state's rights, in 1861 states had nothing else to defend but slavery.

          "They seceded because they thought the election of Lincoln threatened the institution of slavery,

          "There are people who are not happy with that answer, who would like to see the Civil War as having been about something else."

          On social media, many pointed to earlier attempts to avoid conflict.

          Image Copyright @SamitSarkar @SamitSarkar Report
          Twitter post by @SamitSarkar: an incomplete list...1) 3/5 Compromise (1787)2) two Missouri Compromises (1820, 1821)3) Compromise of 18504) Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) Image Copyright @SamitSarkar @SamitSarkar Report

          Critics drew parallels between Gen Kelly's remarks and those made by President Trump in the wake of violence at a far right rally in Charlottesville in August.

          One woman was killed and several more injured when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters.

          President Trump sparked controversy at the time by blaming violence "on both sides" for the attack.

          Image Copyright @mattmfm @mattmfm Report
          Twitter post by @mattmfm: The White House Chief of Staff literally both sided the Civil War. Image Copyright @mattmfm @mattmfm Report

          Gen Kelly's comments come as President Trump is facing renewed scrutiny over possible links between his campaign team and Russia.

          Election campaign advisor George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia.

          President Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and his associate Rick Gates, have been placed under house arrest after denying 12 charges, including conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy against the United States.

          Should Washington and Jefferson monuments come down?

          Media playback is unsupported on your device
          Media captionNine statues have been removed since 2016


          Source – bbc.com

          Technology

          You can stymie the iPhone X Face ID – but it takes some work

          WireAP_819d880087a24c96b3539a03efcf9cb9_12x5_992

          You can stymie the iPhone X Face ID – but it takes some work

          PlayThe Associated Press

          WATCH Apple's most expensive iPhone ever sells out within minutes

            Apple is offering a nifty way to unlock its new iPhone X — just stare at it.

            Face ID, Apple's name for its facial-recognition technology, replaces the fingerprint sensor found on other models.

            How well does it work — not just technically, but in everyday use? After all, it's much easier to align your finger with the sensor than to align your face with the phone.

            The iPhone X costs about $1,000 — $300 more than the iPhone 8. Advance orders began this past Friday, and Apple is now giving delivery times of five to six weeks. Apple says it will have limited supplies at stores for same-day pickup on Friday, but you'll have to get there early.

            ———

            BETTER FACE DETECTION

            Many rival Android phones already use facial-recognition technology. Samsung also has an unlock feature that scans your iris. But the systems can be tripped with something as simple as eyeglasses.

            While Android largely bases its match on a two-dimensional camera shot of you, the iPhone X goes 3-D. During setup, the iPhone guides you to rotate your head so it gets a more complete picture of you — analyzing some 30,000 points on your face, to be specific. So if you're wearing glasses, the iPhone can still recognize you using other parts of your face. Same goes for wearing a hat.

            And Apple's system continually learns. Each time you use your face to unlock the phone, it automatically keeps tabs on small changes, such as growing a mustache or simply getting older. With Android, you have to go into the settings to teach the phone's face recognition to get better.

            There are limits. If you shave your beard, it's too big of a change for the iPhone X to be sure it's you. You'll need a passcode, but the phone should remember you the next time .

            ———

            RECOGNIZING YOU

            I tested the iPhone X against Samsung's iris scanner on the Galaxy Note 8 and face systems on Google's Pixel 2 and LG's V30 phones. V30 improves upon the standard Android technology in asking you to turn your head slightly during the setup, though in practice the Pixel was far better at recognition.

            Only the iPhone and the Pixel recognized me with standard eyeglasses — important, as I expect the same performance with or without spectacles. That said, Face ID unlocked with just one of the two sunglasses I tried; the other was too big.

            Costumes and disguises also challenged Face ID. A Santa hat was OK, but a Santa beard wasn't. Nor did it like funny glasses and a fake nose. Winter clothing was fine, as long as the scarf wasn't covering too much of my face.

            Face ID worked better than expected in bright sunlight — not every time, but enough to be satisfying. It also worked in the dark, thanks to the use of infrared sensors rather than just the standard camera. That's important when you wake up in the middle of the night and must absolutely check Facebook or Tinder. For those keeping score, the Pixel worked in sunlight, but not in the dark; it's the reverse for Samsung. Samsung also worked with the Santa beard, as it's focused on your eyes.

            The iPhone also unlocked after getting a haircut.

            I didn't try to fool the iPhone into unlocking with someone else's face. I'm sure hackers will spend the coming weeks trying. Apple says Face ID could be unreliable with twins and other siblings who look like you, as well as for children under 13 — though young children don't really need a $1,000 phone. Give them a $200 iPod Touch — or better yet, a book to read.

            ———

            NO MORE FINGERPRINT

            The home button is gone to increase screen space. Others that have done this have moved the fingerprint scanner to the back. Apple ditches it completely, so Face ID is the only alternative to a passcode. The Olsen twins, among others, will face a hardship.

            It's also tougher to check Facebook during a meeting without getting busted by the boss. You can casually unlock a phone with your fingerprint under the table. It's much more conspicuous to stare at a screen, especially because your face should ideally be 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 centimeters) away.

            Besides unlocking the phone, you can use Face ID to confirm app purchases and log into banking apps. You can also confirm Apple Pay transactions. You don't have to twist your head awkwardly for facial authorization while the phone is laying sideways on a payment terminal, either. With the iPhone X, you authorize Apple Pay before tapping. It was much faster than fingerprint when paying for lunch.

            Bottom line is Face ID works fairly well — though keeping the fingerprint option would have been nice.

            • Star


            Source – abcnews.go.com