Public urged to be on their guard after women lose £20K in online scam
Police in Northern Ireland are urging the public to be vigilant after a Derry woman lost more than £20,000 in an online romance scam.The report was made to police on Tuesday, October 15.It was reported that the woman met the man, who claimed to be a soldier, online and after a period of time he asked her for money claiming his account was frozen. The conman subsequently persuaded the woman to give him her online banking details, which he used to send money to various individuals.The fraudster also persuaded the woman to give him other personal details so he could obtain further money from her.In total, the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, lost just over £20,500.Enquiries are continuing to establish what, if any of this money, can be recovered. Chief Superintendent Simon Walls said: “No matter how big or small the amount of money is that a victim loses, every loss is felt by those targeted.“However, this scam, where a victim has been swindled out of a significant amount of money, shows why it’s so important for people to be vigilant.“This woman trusted this man who unfortunately was only after one thing – her money.“That is devastating for her.“If anything, this is a stark reminder of why it is so important for families to have conversations with their loved ones about scams.” Chief Superintendent Walls added: “We continue to receive reports of fraud on a regular basis, for example, as recently as Tuesday (15th October) we had a report of a person being contacted by people claiming to represent HMRC and telling them they owed money.“Thankfully no money was lost.“When it comes to scams, our message is simple – never ever disclose your personal or banking details to anyone over the phone or online, no matter how convincing they sound to you. Advertisement “Never disclose them to any unauthorised person or allow anyone access to them via your computer.”Public urged to be on their guard after women lose £20K in online scam was last modified: October 19th, 2019 by Shaun KeenanShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)
South Africa is blessed with three world-class canoe marathons, each offering the paddler a supreme challenge along with genuine camaraderie in a field that includes not only those trying to win, but also those who come to compete with themselves and the river.The Fish River and Berg River canoe marathons are more traditional races, consisting mostly of paddling with a little portaging, but the Dusi Canoe Marathon, raced between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, offers a unique challenge, with portaging making up a significant part of the race.Dusi Canoe MarathonFish River Canoe MarathonBerg River Canoe Marathon DUSI CANOE MARATHONThe Dusi is the longest running of the three races, having been contested for the first time in 1951, when world-renowned conservationist Ian Player, the brother of golfing legend Gary, was the only finisher out of a field of eight men.It took Player six days to complete the epic journey – during which time he was bitten by a night adder. Player crawled to a nearby road and managed to get a lift to a police station, where he collapsed. Anti-serum was administered, and he continued on to Durban.The first four editions of the race were contested on a non-stop basis, but in 1956 the race was changed to its present three-stage format, bringing an end to non-stop racing, through-the-night paddling and sleeping out in the open.Toughest canoe race in the worldFor many years the Dusi remained an elite event feared by the average paddler, and it wasn’t until 1967 that the 100-entry mark was finally achieved. By 1970 it was being billed as “the toughest canoe race in the world”.In the words of Ian Player: “No man who has done the 110 gruelling miles can ever be the same again. The memory of the rapids, the steep hills and torturous paths, the aching backs and dry mouths, the burning sun and cold mist and rain, will forever remain in the mind.”The Dusi KingMany great paddlers have taken turns to dominate the Dusi over the years, but one rose above them all; known as the Dusi King and “The Pope”, Graeme Pope-Ellis recorded his first victory with Eric Clarke in 1972. He won for the last time with Tim Cornish in 1990.In those 19 races since 1972, Pope-Ellis had won 15 times and placed second on three occasions. Only a broken boat in 1979 had prevented him from achieving another top-two finish. He has completed the Dusi a record 44 times.The race regularly attracts well over 1 000 contestants nowadays, with the record standing at 2 127 in the first race of the new millennium.The Non-Stop DusiThe Non-Stop Dusi has also been introduced, reviving the tradition of the race as it was in its early days. Only the excellent, the brave – and sometimes the stupid – attempt the Non-Stop Dusi, which has taken over the mantle of “world’s toughest canoe race” from the three-day Dusi.It is interesting to note that Non-Stop Dusi competitors start and finish on the same day – a reflection on the extent to which training, equipment and support have changed since the first race in 1951.FISH RIVER CANOE MARATHONThe Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon was first held in 1982, when 77 competitors took part. In 2000 it attracted a record entry of 1 564 paddlers, ranking it among the five biggest canoe marathons in the world.One of the main attractions of the event is that it is held in Cradock in the Eastern Cape, a central location that makes the race accessible for participants from all over the country, not to mention those who travel from overseas.Another plus for the paddlers is that the river is artificially regulated, guaranteeing them challenging and exciting rapids, fast-flowing water and testing weirs.The Fish River Canoe Marathon takes place every year during the September school holidays – which sometimes means it happens in October!Coelacanth, Fish Eagle awardsAs with many long-distance events, people competing in 10 or more editions of the Fish River Canoe Marathon are recognised. While the Comrades Marathon has the much-prized green number, the Fish has the equally sought-after Coelacanth award. The even more prestigious Fish Eagle award is presented to paddlers who have completed 20 or more events.The event has regularly been awarded the South African Canoeing Marathon Championships, another indication of its standing as a fine, well-loved event.‘Twinned’ with the Avon DescentThe Fish has also been “twinned” with Australia’s famous Avon Descent, which is billed as “the world’s greatest wild water event”.The twinning agreement sees the winners of the two events being flown to take part in the twin event, and has led to stunning success for South Africans in the Perth race:Wayne Volek won in the K1 category in 2000, followed by Martin Dreyer in 2002, and Sven and Deon Bruss in the K2 category in 2003.Daryl Bartho scored successive K1 victories in 2004 and 2005, and Sven Bruss was the K1 champion and Daryl and Brett Bartho the K2 winners in 2007. In 2008, Barry Lewin was crowned the K1 winner in a record time.BERG RIVER CANOE MARATHONThe Berg River Canoe Marathon has been contested since 1961. It is an extremely tough challenge, taking place over four days and covering an astounding 228 kilometres, making it the longest race in South Africa.Compounding the challenge posed by the distance is the fact that the event takes place in winter – the weather can be a fierce opponent, not to mention the tricky nature of the river. The water tends to be fast-flowing, but the channels are narrow, and overhanging trees give another angle to the test.Due to the extreme test that the race poses, the size of the entry doesn’t approach the size of the fields in the Dusi and Fish River Canoe Marathons.The King of the BergFormer Springbok paddler Andre Collins is known as the King of the Berg. He has completed the event an astounding 40 times, a figure that has been matched by Giel van Deventer.Five-time champion Hank McGregor, who has won every big race there is to win in South African canoe marathon racing, as well as the World Marathon K1 Championships in 2003 and the Durban Surfski World Cup (twice), has often said that the Berg River Canoe Marathon is the toughest race in the world.Team raceIn an interesting innovation, the Berg introduced a professional team race in 2008, which employed an original and exciting format.Each team consists of three or four paddlers. To ensure that the competition is competitive, no team may include more than one paddler who has achieved top three places in the previous three editions of the race.The top three times are added together for a cumulative time, but that time can be reduced by one of the team’s paddlers winning “hotspots”, which are worth two minutes off the total time.Would you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material
22 October 2015 This year’s Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award has gone to Athol Williams for his poem Streetclass Diseases.Portrait of a Mother and Indiscretion by Sindiswa Busku-Mathese was awarded second place, with Baleka, What do you Know by Jim Pascual Agustin coming in third place.The winners were presented with their awards by the head judge and chairperson of the Jacana Literary Foundation, Mongane Wally Serote, and the EU ambassador designate, Marcus Cornaro, at a ceremony hosted by Poetry Africa on 17 October, in Durban.@Qhakaza Am feeling so much love from my @WordNSound family, thank you— Athol Williams (@athol_williams) October 17, 2015@nomadpoet Thank you SO MUCH Toni, I am overjoyed!!— Athol Williams (@athol_williams) October 17, 2015The awardThe award is handed out annually and is in its fifth year. It is named after South African journalist, linguist and writer Solomon (Sol) Tshekisho Plaatje (1876-1932) to recognise his life and vision as a social and political activist.Poems that made it on to the long list were published in an anthology. “Like Plaatje’s works did in his time, these poems reveal the political and social attitudes of our time,” reads the Jacana website.The works are written in numerous South African languages, including English, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Sesotho, Xitsonga and isiZulu.Watch this to find out more about Plaatje:Winner profileWilliams grew up in Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, but has lived in Johannesburg, Boston and London. He holds five degrees from local and international universities such as Harvard, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of the Witwatersrand. He is currently reading political philosophy at Oxford University in the UK.He said he loved to experiment and learn. “My poetry leads my pursuit of understanding just as imagination leads my efforts in social development,” Williams states on his website.“My work seeks to explore new structural processes and social institutions that may put humanity on a path to greater harmony and I delve deeply into the prospects of a new (or renewed) human consciousness that might make us all evolve to live larger, fuller lives.”He has published three collections of poems – Bumper Cars, Talking to a Tree and Heap of Stones – and two children’s books – Oaky, the Happy Tree and Oaky and the Sun.“I have a passion for reading and education personally, and I recognise the vital role education plays in the pursuit of freedom and human development, hence my involvement in social change through education,” he said. “I co-founded Read to Rise, an NGO that promotes youth literacy.”Watch this to learn more about Read to Rise:The organisation offers children suitable reading material fitting for their age groups, in an attempt to instil a love of reading early on in life.SouthAfrica.info reporter
Share Facebook Twitter Google + LinkedIn Pinterest The FAA’s long awaited rule for drones or “small unmanned aircraft systems” (sUAS) weighing less than 55 pounds will be effective on August 29, 2016. Our previous post explained the rule’s process for obtaining certification as a Remote Pilot in Command (Remote PIC) that will apply to those who operate a sUAS for commercial uses or incidental to a business, such as for farming purposes. In this post, we focus on the operational requirements and limitations in the new sUAS rule. Farmers who want to use a drone in the farm operation need to understand and comply with these provisions. Pre-flight requirements• Registration. A person may not operate a sUAS over 0.55 pounds unless it is registered with FAA. An online registration is available at https://registermyuas.faa.gov/• Pre-flight inspection. The Remote PIC must inspect the sUAS prior to a flight to ensure that it is in a condition for safe operation, which includes inspecting for equipment damage or malfunctions. The FAA advises operators to conduct the pre-flight inspection in accordance with the sUAS manufacturer’s inspection procedures and provides a list of the elements to address in a pre-flight inspection in section 7.3.4 of this guideline.• Pre–flight information. The Remote PIC must make sure that all persons directly involved in the flight are informed about roles and responsibilities, operating conditions, emergency and contingency procedures and potential hazards.• Flight operators. Only a Remote PIC may fly the sUAS, or someone under the direct supervision of a Remote PIC if the PIC is easily able to gain control of the sUAS. A Remote PIC may only operate or observe one drone at a time.• Airspace. Flights of sUAS are allowed in Class G airspace, the airspace that is not controlled by Air Traffic Control (ATC) communications, which encompasses a majority of agricultural lands. A flight in Class, B, C, D and E controlled airspace requires permission from the appropriate ATC prior to flight. The FAA will establish a web portal that will allow an operator to apply for ATC permission online.• Waiver process. The operator may apply for a “certificate of waiver” that allows deviation from some of the operational requirements if the FAA determines that the flight would be safe. The operator must receive the waiver prior to the flight, so should file the request about 90 days in advance of the proposed flight. The FAA will post the waiver applications, which are not yet available, at http://www.faa.gov/uas/. Operating rules during flightWeather visibility. There must be a minimum visibility of three miles from the sUAS control station.Visual line of sight. The Remote PIC or the authorized person operating the drone must maintain a constant visual line of sight with the sUAS, without the aid of a device other than glasses or contact lenses. The operator may use a visual observer to help maintain the line of sight, but using an observer cannot extend the line of sight.See and avoid. The operator must yield the right of way and avoid collision with another use of the national air space.Height. The sUAS may not fly more than 400 feet above ground level.Time of day. Flights may occur only during daylight hours or no more than 30 minutes before official sunrise or after official sunset if the sUAS has anti-collision lighting.Speed. The sUAS speed may not exceed 100 miles per hour.People. A flight may not occur over persons who are not involved in the flight or are not under a covered structure or inside a covered stationary vehicle.Base of operation. Operation of the sUAs may not occur from a moving aircraft. Operation from a moving land or water vehicle is permissible if in a sparsely populated area and not transporting property for hire.External load and towing. A sUAS may carry or tow an external load if the load is securely attached, does not affect control of the aircraft, is not a hazardous substance and the combined weight of the sUAS and its load does not exceed the 55 pound weight limit.Aerial applications. Use of a sUAS for dispensing herbicides, pesticides and similar substances must also comply with the “agricultural aircraft operation” regulations in 14 CFR 137.3.Dropping objects. An operator may not create an undue hazard that poses a risk of injury to persons or property when dropping an object from a sUAS.Careless or reckless operation. A person must not operate a sUAS carelessly or recklessly. The FAA provides the example of failing to consider weather conditions when flying near structures, trees or rolling terrain in a densely populated area as an example of careless or reckless operation. After-flight requirementsProduction of records and vehicle. If requested by FAA, a person must make the sUAS or its records available for testing or inspection.Accident reporting. Within 10 days of occurrence, a Remote PIC must report to the FAA a flight operation that results in loss of consciousness or serious injury to a person or creates property damage of at least $500. Reporting can occur online at www.faa.gov/uas or by telephone to the appropriate FAA field office or regional center.Penalties for noncompliance with the ruleThe FAA will have enforcement authority over the new regulations. Depending upon the type and violation, civil penalties could be up to $27,500. An operator could also be subject to criminal penalties for violations that are reckless, destroy property or threaten public safety; those penalties could be up to $250,000.Learn more about the sUAS rule at http://www.faa.gov/uas/.
April 9, 2018 National City PD searching for suspect(s) responsible for fatal shooting of pedestrian KUSI Newsroom, Posted: April 9, 2018 Victim: Onan Loaiza SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — San Diego County Crime Stoppers and investigators from the National City Police Department’s Homicide Unit are asking for the public’s help in finding the person(s) responsible for murdering Onan Loaiza.On Tuesday, March 27 at about 11:00 a.m., 26-year-old Onan Loaiza was walking in the 800 block of Eta Street in National City, presumably on his way home. A black, two-door Nissan Altima pulled up next to him. A male exited the passenger door of the Altima and shot and killed Onan Loaiza. The suspect got back into the black Altima and fled the scene in an unknown direction.Onan Loaiza was involved in a fight with two men minutes before his death at the Mex Mart, located at 1740 S. 43rd Street in San Diego. He was likely targeted for his involvement in the fight.Robert Allen Garduno (27) has been arrested for Loaiza’s murder. The investigation is ongoing and other suspect(s) are still outstanding.Anyone with information on the identity or location of the person(s) responsible for this murder is asked to call the National City Police Department at (619) 336-4411 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in this case. Visit the Crime Stoppers website at www.sdcrimestoppers.org for more information on how to send anonymous web and mobile app tips. KUSI Newsroom Categories: Local San Diego News FacebookTwitter
‘Yennai Arindhaal’.IBTimes India”Yennai Arindhaal” has now become the highest grossing Ajith film in the US by grossing $415K till Saturday, beating all time record of his previous best “Arrambam”, which had collected total of $380 K.Ajith starrer has achieved this feat in just three days since its release on 5 February. The distributors of the movie are now hoping that the movie will cross $500K in a few days.”#YennaiArindhaal bcoms highest grossing #Thala film in USA by Satday, $415K,more scrns to rept. prev best Arrambam $380K. Target $500K now!” tweeted Atmus Entertainment, the distributors of the movie in United States.Earlier, “Yennai Arindhaal” had broken the first day collection record of “Arrambam” by collecting $113,232 (approximately ₹69 Lakhs) from 75 screens in its premiere.”Yennai Arindhaal”, which released on 5 February in more than 1,000 screens worldwide, has received positive reviews and is showing stupendous performance in terms of box office collection. The film is also rewriting the records in terms of theatre occupancy.Industry analysts say that despite the film being released on a non-weekend day, it has done really well and the weekend reports suggest that the film is heading to be a big success.The movie has currently registered number one rank at the Chennai box office, followed by Vikram’s “I” and Dhanush-Amitabh Bachchan starrer “Shamitabh”.”Top 5 at CBO – Feb 5 to 8 – No.5 Isai, No.4 Darling , No.3 Shamitabh, No.2 I, No.1 Yennai Arindhaal,” tweeted industry analyst Sreedhar Pillai.Directed by Gautham Menon, “Yennai Arindhaal” also has an impressive star cast, which includes Trisha Krishnan, Anushka Shetty, Vivek, Arun Vijay, Daniel Balaji, Amit Bhargava, Rajasimman and Devi Ajith.
Al-Qaeda in Yemen overran three southern towns just days after a deadly US raid targeting its commanders, before withdrawing from two of them on Friday, officials said.The jihadists’ entry into the Abyan province towns of Loder, Shaqra and Ahwar came as the White House defended Sunday’s raid on an Al-Qaeda compound as a “success”, even though multiple civilians and a Navy SEAL were killed.Abyan has long been an Al-Qaeda stronghold and it was only through a major offensive backed by a Saudi-led coalition last summer that the government was able to drive its fighters out of the province’s main towns.But the jihadists have faced some opposition from ordinary Yemenis.”The Al-Qaeda fighters withdrew from Loder and Shaqra after protest demonstrations by residents,” a local government official said.”Residents made clear during the protests that they were ready to take up arms if necessary.”The jihadists’ entry into the two towns on Thursday evening was helped by a pullout by government forces angry over the late payment of their wages, a security official told AFP.”Our forces are also angry that they have not been provided with the weapons and other equipment to confront the jihadists, who have been stepping up their armed attacks,” the official said.Al-Qaeda fighters set up roadblocks around the towns and blew up two security service buildings.Saudi-led aircraft carried out two strikes on jihadist positions in Loder overnight, the official added.Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of nearly two years of fighting between government forces and Shiite rebels who control the capital Sanaa to entrench its presence in the south.Washington has kept up its long-running drone war against the jihadists but that has done little to dent their influence.Sunday’s raid on an Al-Qaeda compound in Baida province was the first such operation of Donald Trump’s presidency.Navy SEAL Team Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, was killed and three other US troops were wounded in a fierce gunfight.And on Wednesday, the Pentagon acknowledged that several non-combatants, including children, had apparently been killed.A Yemeni provincial official said eight women and eight children died.The International Crisis Group think-tank warned on Thursday that operations like the Baida raid risked fanning hostility towards the United States among civilians, providing fertile ground for recruitment by Al-Qaeda.
One of the sailors confirmed missing after the collision of USS John McCain is Houston native John Hoagland.Hoagland’s family confirmed to KHOU that they have been informed by the Navy that his remains have not been found.On Tuesday Navy divers searched a flooded compartment of the USS John McCain and found the remains of some of the missing sailors.Family tells me Sailor John “CJ” Hoagland of Cleveland, TX area among missing aboard #JohnSMcCain. They’re bracing for worse news #khou11 pic.twitter.com/rjLPi4U0y3— Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) August 22, 2017 Share
Share Photo: Courtesy of Texas CentralPart of the high-speed rail line connecting Houston and Dallas would be built along Hempstead Road and, Texas Central, the company in charge of the project estimates it could create 1,000 permanent jobs.Texas Central Railway said its bullet train would get people between Houston and Dallas in only 90 minutes while providing jobs and tax dollars. But many rural landowners said they have no interest in selling their property and they worry Texas Central will try to use eminent domain to take it. Federal authorities said they want to hear from people in communities in the train’s proposed route. The Railroad Administration has been holding public meetings to take comment on a draft environmental impact study. The meeting is from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday, March 5th, at the Sheraton Hotel on North Loop West, 3000 N Loop W Fwy, Houston, TX 77092. The deadline to comment on the study is Friday, March 9th, and you can also submit comments through the Federal Railroad Administration website. 
Popular on Variety Many of these requests are accompanied by visual feedback. This is especially powerful for recipes: Users can ask for instructions on how to cook dishes, and then get a kind of visual step-by-step guide.The screen also frequently allows touch input, but during a demo given to Variety this week, a Lenovo spokesperson was quick to point out that the device is not meant to be a tablet. This means that there are no on-screen navigation buttons — going back to the home screen still requires you to say “Hey Google, go home.”Left untouched, the Smart Display cycles through a slideshow of photography that will look familiar to anyone who has ever owned one of Google’s Chromecast streaming adapters: Like Chromecast, or Android TV for that matter, the device taps into a catalog of publicly available photos that can be customized via the Google Home app to also include your own photos. After 90 minutes, the screen fades to black, safe for a timer.Speaking of Chromecast: The close integration with Google’s other devices is likely going to be a key differentiator for devices like the Lenovo Smart Display. The display plays nice with other Chromecast-capable devices in your house, making it possible to ask it to play videos on the TV. What’s more, the Smart Display also works as a Chromecast receiver, so you’ll be able to cast audio and video content to it from your phone. Netflix binging in the kitchen, anyone?In addition to making content available via casting, the Smart Display also directly integrates with Spotify, HBO, Google Play Music and YouTube. The latter is another key differentiator to the Echo Show: As a result of a prolonged dispute between Amazon and Google, YouTube is currently not available on the Amazon device.Lenovo’s brief demo this week overall showed a polished experience, but it also revealed a few oddities: The Smart Display uses Google’s Duo service for video calls. But since most people video chat with their phones held horizontally, Lenovo recommends to turn the entire device 90 degrees for video chatting. Afterwards, it has to be turned back — screen rotation for other use cases isn’t supported at launch. Google’s answer to Amazon’s Echo Show is finally here: Lenovo starts shipping its Smart Display, which combines voice control with a screen for video viewing, to consumers this coming Friday.The Smart Display, which was first announced at CES back in January, is being made available in two sizes: A smaller version with an 8-inch 1280×800 pixel screen is going on sale for $200; $250 gets you a 10-inch screen with a resolution of 1920×1200. The bigger version also comes with a bamboo back, and features a slightly larger speaker, but the two devices are otherwise identical.Out of the box, Lenovo’s Smart Display supports much of the same functionality as a Google Home speaker. You can ask it for weather, directions, query your calendar and more. The device also supports customized routines. For instance, users can greet it with “Hey Google, good morning” to get a weather forecast, hear about their day’s schedule, get an update on their morning commute and finally launch into some news programming. Also perplexing: The smart Display includes a full-blown web browser, which shows up when browsing recipes via touch input. However, users aren’t able to browse other sites of their choice on the device — a restriction that seems arbitrary, even with the “this is no tablet” disclaimer.Finally, multi-room audio — the ability to play music synchronized on your smart Display and on other Google speakers or devices equipped with a Chromecast audio adapter — isn’t available at launch, despite Lenovo’s previous promises to support this feature. “This is not supported at the moment, but is something we’re hoping to add in the future,” said Google Assistant product manager Bibo Xu via email.The Smart Display is Google’s first attempt to take on the Echo Show, with the help of Lenovo as the hardware manufacturer. The company also announced earlier this year that Sony, LG and JBL would release additional smart display devices in the near future. Google VP Rishi Chandra suggested in an interview with Variety in April that Google may ultimately follow up with its own smart display devices in the future as well. ×Actors Reveal Their Favorite Disney PrincessesSeveral actors, like Daisy Ridley, Awkwafina, Jeff Goldblum and Gina Rodriguez, reveal their favorite Disney princesses. Rapunzel, Mulan, Ariel,Tiana, Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine all got some love from the Disney stars.More VideosVolume 0%Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcutsKeyboard Shortcutsplay/pauseincrease volumedecrease volumeseek forwardsseek backwardstoggle captionstoggle fullscreenmute/unmuteseek to %SPACE↑↓→←cfm0-9Next UpJennifer Lopez Shares How She Became a Mogul04:350.5x1x1.25×1.5x2xLive00:0002:1502:15
