Meet the Londoners who had a hand in The Shape of Water
Twitter The actor John Kapelos, who plays the theatre manager and landlord Mr. Arzoumanian, was born and raised in London, sound mixer Paul Gosse trained at the London-based Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology, and sound editor, Nathan Robitaille is a graduate from the Digital Applications program at Fanshawe College.Here’s how they wound up working on the Guillermo del Toro movie.John Kapelos, a.k.a. ‘Oh, it’s that guy!’Actor John Kapelos was born and raised in London. (Innis Casey)John Kapelos made his theatrical debut in a Grade 10 production of Guys an Dolls at London Central Secondary School. Advertisement Facebook Advertisement Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer in the film THE SHAPE OF WATER. Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment Login/Register With: If you need a movie to root for during the Academy Awards Sunday night, why not choose The Shape of Water?The Guillermo del Toro flick is an Oscar darling this year, with a whopping 13 nominations overall.It also has a strong London connection. Advertisement
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May is writing to the European Union (EU) to formally ask for Brexit to be postponed. One ministerial source told the BBC the longer delay could be up to two years, amid reports of a cabinet row, but No 10 said no decision had been made. EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU would not grant a delay without a “concrete plan” from the UK about what they would do with it. Under current law, the UK will leave the EU with or without a deal in 10 days. MPs rejected the withdrawal deal Mrs May has negotiated with the EU for a second time last week by 149 votes. They also voted in favour of ruling out leaving the EU without a deal, and in favour of extending the Brexit process. The Prime Minister had hoped to have another try at getting MPs to back the deal this week – but Speaker John Bercow effectively torpedoed that with his surprise intervention on Monday. She still hopes to ultimately get it in front of MPs for a third go, but says even if that happens and they vote in favour of it, the UK will need a short extension to get the necessary legislation through Parliament. A cabinet source told the BBC she therefore plans to ask the EU to agree to postpone the UK’s departure until June 30, but with an option of a longer delay as well. May has warned Brexiteer Tories that longer extension will be needed if her deal does not get through Parliament. One ministerial source said there was “no agreement” around the cabinet table when a delay was discussed. Another cabinet source said they were frustrated that the Prime Minister had not been clear about which delay option she would be arguing for. Commons leader Andrea Leadsom is said to have criticised colleagues, saying they now amounted to a “Remain cabinet”, not a “Brexit cabinet”. Chancellor Philip Hammond said ministers all wanted the “shortest possible delay” but cabinet members “have different approaches to how we should do this”. Any delay will have to be agreed by all 27 EU member states and May is heading to Brussels on Thursday to discuss the options with fellow leaders.
Councillors have refused a licence application for a zoo where almost 500 animals died within four years.Zoo founder David Gill applied to renew his licence for the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria.The application was refused by Barrow Borough Council’s licensing regulatory committee at a meeting on Monday and Mr Gill now has 28 days to lodge an appeal.Chairman of the committee Tony Callister said the decision had been unanimous and was made because councillors were not satisfied conservation matters referred to in the Zoo Licensing Act would be implemented.It came after it emerged that eight British zoos are on the radar of a watchdog over animal welfare fears after tip-offs.The Captive Animals’ Prevention Society, a watchdog that investigates UK zoos, said that animals were also at risk at other attractions. Councils are currently responsible for zoos in their area, with a compulsory inspection carried out every three to four years.Following a site visit to South Lakes Safari Zoo in January this year, Government-appointment inspectors said they were “dismayed by the obvious deficiencies in the accommodation, the overcrowding and the lack of proper welfare and husbandry”.They said the post-mortem database – detailing the deaths of 486 animals from January 2013 to September 2016 – “shows a clear picture of poor management with uncontrolled breeding and lack of any programme of preventative and curative veterinary medicine, with resultant ongoing welfare issues for the animals”. It said that it had identified at least eight zoos, which it did not name, as being a cause for concern following tip-offs from former employees and members of the public.Maddy Taylor, the group’s campaigns officer, told The Times: “SLSZ is a particularly bad case but things are happening in zoos around the country and people don’t know about it.”There’s this real view of the British public that UK zoos are amazing and have amazing standards, but there’s a lot of stuff we know about and it’s not the case that they are squeaky clean.”Ms Taylor also called for an overhaul of the “flawed” licensing system, adding that a central body should monitor zoos. “Zoos have to comply with a comprehensive range of regulations and rules, all of which are kept under review by our zoos expert committee, which includes animal welfare experts, including the RSPCA.”Defra also provides authorities with qualified inspectors. Where standards are not met local authorities have legal powers to act.” She said 182 of the animals which had died were of threatened species. Katie Richards, from charity Born Free, said she had visited the zoo on Sunday and had been able to take part in feeding a jaguar using a pair of tongs through a cage.She said: “I was absolutely gobsmacked by how close you could get to those animals with a pair of tongs. “The problem here and the issue is both animal welfare and public safety and I felt very unsafe in that situation.”Mr Walker, appearing on behalf of Mr Gill, said his client no longer wanted to run the zoo but did not want to see it close before new company, Cumbria Zoo Company Limited, had a licence approved.David Shaw, the boyfriend of Miss McClay, attended the meeting. Speaking after councillors voted to refuse the application, he said: “I’m satisfied that the council has come to the right decision, it’s a shame it’s taken quite so long, it’s probably several years overdue, but it’s happened now.”Hopefully if Gill does as he says he is and divests himself of all relations and links to the zoo then the new company should be able to prove that they can operate in a safe way.”A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokeswoman said: “We share the public’s high regard for animal welfare, continue to lead the way to raise the bar and have a licensing system that is among the best in the world. 
Mr Callister said the committee had taken into account that Mr Gill had been convicted under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 regarding the escape into the wild of a number of sacred ibis.The committee heard inspectors had visited the tourist attraction in January and were “dismayed by the obvious deficiencies in the accommodation, the overcrowding and the lack of proper welfare and husbandry”.Inspectors said the post-mortem database, detailing the deaths of 486 animals from January 2013 to September 2016, showed “a clear picture of poor management with uncontrolled breeding and lack of any programme of preventative and curative veterinary medicine, with resultant ongoing welfare issues for the animals”.Mr Gill did not attend the hearing at Barrow Town Hall and his solicitor Steve Walker called for the meeting to be adjourned as his client was out of the country.But, councillors refused the application for adjournment and said Mr Gill had been given “every opportunity” to attend the meeting. Mr Walker said the numbers of animals who died should be taken in context and said the mortality rate at Chester Zoo was worse.Veterinary adviser Dr Matthew Brash said: “The inspectors throughout were very strongly of the opinion that it’s a mistake to concentrate on numbers per se.”Our concern throughout has been the cause of death or lack of action to prevent or lack of action occurred after those deaths to prevent them reoccurring.”The committee heard the animals which had died included a jaguar called Saka who had a bite wound to its paw and injuries which indicated “chronic, ongoing self-traumatisation”.In June 2016, the zoo, opened in 1994 by Mr Gill, was fined £255,000 at Preston Crown Court after one of its employees, Sarah McClay, 24, was killed by a Sumatran tiger in May 2013.
It received an additional £42,500 fine after it also pleaded guilty to other health and safety law breaches when a zoo keeper fell from a ladder while preparing to feed big cats in July 2014.Superintendent Rob O’Connor from Cumbria Constabulary told the meeting he had “serious concerns” about the zoo’s ability to fulfil its firearms responsibilities after learning only three of the staff currently held firearms certificates.He said a staff rota showed on six days in February only one staff member with the correct certification had been on site.Nicola O’Brien, campaigns director for Captive Animals’ Protection Society (Caps), said: “In our 60 years of campaigning against the zoo industry and in my short time at the charity this is one of the worst cases we have ever seen.” Leopard feeding at South Lakes Safari Zoo, in Dalton, CumbriaCredit:Cascade News There’s a lot of stuff we know about and it’s not the case that they are squeaky cleanMaddy Taylor, Captive Animals’ Prevention Society Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings. Sarah McClay was killed by a Sumatran tiger in May 2013
Eldorado Gold Lamaque is the first mining company in Canada to receive the new Epiroc Boomer S2 C. The rig has been hard at work since January 18 at its gold project in Val d’Or, Quebec. The size of the Boomer S2 C face drilling rig makes it ideal for mining or narrow tunnelling applications up to 56 square metres. With BMH 6814 feeds, the 4WD articulated rig is 12.2 m long and 2 m wide with a 42-degree turning radius. Optional BMHT telescopic feeds are available for bolting operations.Coverage area at the face with BUT HD29 booms is 45 square metres, reaching up to 6.2 m high by 9.3 m wide. Optional, true top-mounted robust BUT S booms give the Boomer S2 a reach of up to a 6.6 m by 9.4 m with faster boom and feed movements. Top-mounted booms are easier to position, improve operator visibility, offer better crosscut functionality and reduce over-break and costs. The carrier is powered by a powerful Deutz 90 kW TCD 3.6 Tier 4 Final diesel engine.Eldorado Mine Superintendent Gilbert Bouffard said the smaller rig gives the two-year-old project versatility for both ramp development as well as production blasthole drilling. “Technology is continuously revolutionizing the mining field,” Bouffard said, “and this generation of Epiroc face drilling rigs can play a huge role in helping a mine like Eldorado reach its objectives.”“There is no other rig like it,” said Ghislain Macameau, Epiroc Account Manager. “It’s the only computer-optimised jumbo of its size in the world right now.” The Boomer S2 C operates on Epiroc’s proprietary Rig Control System, currently RCS 5. Blaine Vatcher, Epiroc Canada Product Manager Underground Equipment, said: “RCS 5 is simpler for the operators to learn and use. The modern GUI with touch screen allows operators to adjust drilling patterns on the fly and onboard manuals really help customers get more metres of advance every day.”Automated options include ABC Regular drill plan handling, enabling precise control over drilling and the use of longer feeds for longer rounds; measure while drilling (MWD) for logging and analysing drill data; Bolt View; and Rig Remote Access. Blasthole engineers create patterns at the surface that are exactly reproduced by the drill at the face. Precision ground control helps mines establish and maintain a high-quality cut-off value, minimise over-break, reduce waste and dilution. It also creates smooth, competent walls and ceilings that require fewer rock bolts to control ground movement. The result is significantly increased productivity and efficiency.Vatcher said, “The Boomer S2 was designed to update the Boomer 282 with features and benefits for today’s demand for improved accuracy and efficiency. The automation options can also assist when skilled manpower is at a premium.”Although other rock drill models are available, the Boomer S2 C rig comes standard with the new COP MD20 underground hydraulic rock drills, designed for blastholes 43 mm to 64 mm in diameter on T38 rods. The 20 kW MD20 rock drills not only give the Boomer S2 C the power of a larger drill without larger electrical motors, they also run longer between servicing thanks to improved hose life, sealed mating surfaces and fewer housing parts. A 1,000 percussion-hour recommended service interval means more time is spent drilling. Holes are drilled with up to 10 to 15% faster penetration rates than the nearest competitor.The Boomer shares the same operating system as larger Epiroc rigs, making training and cross-training easier for operators of any generation or experience level. Simulator training for underground rigs is available through Epiroc.
A NEW REPORT by the European Consumer Centre (ECC) shows that dependent on where you leave people are unable to buy certain things or are charged a higher price for goods.Over a three year period the report highlights the current practical difficulties faced by consumers when attempting to access cross-border services in the single market.Single MarketThe ECC stated that the Services Directive, implemented in December 2009, prohibits discriminatory conditions based on the nationality or residence of service recipients.The report states that the efforts to remove unjustified regulatory restrictions to the provision of services may not be translating into benefits for service recipients as certain service providers are creating artificial borders within the Internal Market.The ECC said that too often, consumers face restrictions when they try to avail of services cross-border and situations occur whereby consumers are confronted with a refusal to supply or unequal conditions because they come from or live in another EU country.TradersWhile traders are free to determine the territorial scope of their offers, consumer complaints reported to ECC show that certain business practices may be to the detriment of consumers and contrary to the principle of non-discrimination based on the nationality or place of residence of service recipients, as established by Article 20.2 of the Services Directive.Over 75 per cent of the complaints reported to ECC related to discrimination based on consumers’ place of residence rather than their nationality.Refusal to supply was the most frequent cause for consumer complaints, followed by price differentiation and difference in other conditions of access. E-commerce was the main channel through which consumers faced discrimination when attempting to access services.The report found 74 per cent consumers are most frequently confronted with price or service differentiation when trying to purchase goods such as electronic items, clothes, and digital downloads.ServicesOther problematic sectors for consumers were in the provision of tourism and leisure services – 21 per cent and in car rental and leasing services – 5 per cent.Ann Neville, Director of ECC Ireland, said that “too often consumers are unable to access the benefits of the Single Market due to discrimination based on their nationality or place of residence”.She added: “Although the Services Directive strengthens the rights of recipients of services, consumers need this legislation to work effectively in practice. It’s of the utmost importance to work on consumer rights in the digital market. The report shows that much work remains to be done to ensure that consumers’ rights are respected”.Read: More than €12 million spent training Irish language graduates to translate EU legislation>
Short URL Wednesday 1 May 2019, 6:10 AM May 1st 2019, 6:10 AM REVENGE PORN IS to be outlawed under amendments to new legislation to be approved by Cabinet today.The changes will also provide for a separate offence to deal with another image based offence, ‘upskirting’.The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill, which provides for a six-month prison sentence upon conviction, was originally put forward by the Labour Party in 2017.The Bill is based on a Law Reform Commission report, which recommends the outlawing of two kinds of incidents: one which forbids the posting online of intimate images without consent, the other which will prevent secretly filming or photographing private areas of a person, also known as ‘upskirting’ and ‘down-blousing’.Today, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan will seek government approval to draft, on a priority basis, amendments to the Bill. Revenge pornIreland is behind the times when it comes to dealing with the issue of ‘revenge porn’, according to Labour leader Brendan Howlin, who sponsored the Bill.The minister’s officials have been working with Howlin and the Attorney General to agree proposed amendments to the Bill.Howlin has previously said one of the aspects of modern life is the increase in instances in which private images taken while in an intimate relationship are posted online when a relationship breaks down.“They use images gathered during that relationship to harm their former partner by posting intimate, lewd images that were meant for an intimate couple online. It is totally unacceptable,” he said, adding that Ireland is behind other countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand which have enacted such laws. The Department of Justice and Equality had begun preliminary work on its own legislation in this area, following a report in 2016 by the Law Reform Commission on Harmful Communications and Digital Safety.Government halted its own workHowever, the government agreed to stop working on its own Bill and instead, accept Howlin’s Bill which is based on the LRC’s recommendations.The Bill provides for the main criminal law elements of the LRC Report and proposes new offences dealing with: Image: Shutterstock/Antonio Guillem 22 Comments https://jrnl.ie/4613200 Share34 Tweet Email2 The government agreed to stop working on its own Bill and instead accept Brendan Howlin’s Bill. Ireland set to make revenge porn and ‘upskirting’ illegal under new legislation It will also be an offence to send obscene messages using any form of online communications. By Christina Finn Non-consensual distribution of intimate images with intent to cause harm or distress (more commonly known as revenge pornography)The taking and distribution of intimate images without consent, whether or not there is intent to cause harm or distressThe move comes just a few months after gardaí were informed by at least two women that their intimate photographs have been posted online without their consent. The forum on the popular website Reddit which showed nude and clothed images of Irish women shared without their consent was later shut down. Harassment onlineThe offence of harassment will include all forms of communication including through online or digital communications or communications about another person.This seeks to modernise existing laws to cover modern technology and social media and aims to bring existing regulation up to date by broadening the legal definition of communication, to include all electronic, written and spoken word, including for example, an iMessage, Whatsapp or Facebook message, and a tweet or social media post.The Bill also provides for the expansion of the existing offence of sending threatening or indecent messages to apply to all threatening, false indecent and obscene messages using any form of online communications.A specific offence of stalking (stalking-type behaviour is currently prosecuted under the offence of harassment contained in section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997) will also be provided for under the new legislation. If the proposals are approved by Cabinet today, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel will begin drafting the government amendments to the Bill on a priority basis so that it can advance to Committee Stage in the Dáil as soon as possible. 26,455 Views The government agreed to stop working on its own Bill and instead accept Brendan Howlin’s Bill. Image: Shutterstock/Antonio Guillem Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article
Des probiotiques pour lutter contre l’anxiété ?Ajouter des probiotiques, des micro-organismes vivants, à l’alimentation, aurait un impact sur l’humeur. C’est du moins ce que tend à prouver une récente étude menée sur des souris par des chercheurs de l’University College Cork, en Irlande.Les probiotiques, ou “bonnes” bactéries, ajoutés à certains produits alimentaires comme les yaourts, auraient un impact sur le cerveau, et pourraient contribuer au traitement de l’anxiété et la dépression. C’est ce que tendent à prouver les conclusions d’une étude publiée dans la revue Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.À lire aussiBoulimie : définition, causes, conséquences, de quoi s’agit-il ?Menés par des chercheurs de l’University College Cork, en Irlande, ces travaux ont été réalisés sur des souris à qui l’équipe a administré soit un régime à base de probiotiques, soit un régime classique. Celles qui ont été nourries avec des probiotiques ont alors révélé moins de signes de stress et de dépression que leurs congénères non soumises à ce régime particulier. Des analyses ont en outre, montré des niveaux bien plus bas de l’hormone de stress corticostérone chez les souris nourries avec les probiotiques. L’effet de ces derniers sur l’humeur ne pourrait pas exister sans le nerf pneumogastrique vague, qui assure le lien entre les intestins et le cerveau, précise l’étude.C’est la première fois qu’une étude confirme l’effet d’un probiotique sur le cerveau. Mais il est encore en trop tôt pour savoir si cet impact existe aussi chez l’homme. De nouvelles recherches devront être menées pour le déterminer.Le 4 septembre 2011 à 10:24 • Maxime Lambert
Méningite : un nouveau vaccin montre des résultats prometteursSelon une étude tout juste publiée, le nouveau vaccin MenAfriVac contre la méningite s’est révélé efficace dans plusieurs pays africains.C’est un pas de plus dans la lutte contre une maladie qui continue de faire de nombreuses victimes dans le monde : la méningite. Cette semaine, des scientifiques ont révélé dans la revue The Lancet qu’un nouveau vaccin avait montré des résultats prometteurs. Baptisé MenAfriVac, le vaccin a été développé par le Projet Vaccins méningite (MVP) grâce à un partenariat entre l’OMS et l’ONG américaine Path, avec un financement fourni par la fondation Bill et Melinda Gates.À lire aussiMaladie de Charcot : symptômes, causes, traitement, où en est on ? Ce nouveau vaccin est dirigé spécifiquement contre la méningite A et se serait révélé efficace à une large échelle dans plusieurs pays africains, selon les travaux publiés. Concrètement, aucun nouveau cas de méningite A n’a été observé chez les 1,8 million de personnes vaccinées en 2011. Si on tient compte de tous les types de méningites, les nouveaux cas enregistrés au Tchad en 2012 ont été de 2,5 pour 100.000 personnes, contre 43,6 cas pour 100.000 dans les autres régions non concernées par la vaccination, soit une baisse de 94%. Par ailleurs, la transmission du méningocoque A (le germe responsable de la maladie) a diminué de 98% dans les régions vaccinées, soulignent les chercheurs européens et tchadiens cités par l’AFP. Depuis l’introduction du MenAfriVac au Burkina Faso en 2010, plus de 100 millions de personnes ont déjà été vaccinées en Afrique. Les nouveaux résultats très positifs constituent ainsi “un signe extrêmement encourageant pour les pays qui n’ont pas encore introduit le vaccin”, a estimé Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, le directeur du département de vaccination de l’OMS. “Nous ne sommes qu’à mi-chemin du processus d’introduction de ces vaccins, mais nous avons déjà des résultats extraordinaires”, a-t-il conclu.Le 13 septembre 2013 à 09:57 • Maxime Lambert
Lotteria is no stranger to lining out its menu with some of the weirdest burgers you’ll ever see. Just recently the Good Meat Day Double Steak Burger was announced, which is no doubt making waves. But think of something crazier from the king of fast food weirdness. What would make for a strange burger? Given up yet? Oh, it’s totally a pizza burger. Technically, it’s the Margherita-style Stretchy Pizza Burger, which is going on sale this December 12 and will be available all throughout January. Better snap it up!But don’t start thinking it’s just a whole lot of pizza ingredients slopped onto a cheeseburger. It’s something a little weirder than that. There actually isn’t even a meat patty on this thing. It’s actually a “burger” with bread crumbs all over it filled with the stretchiest mozzarella cheese you’ve ever seen. Then, on top of that (all under the bread, and you) is a hash brown in case you hadn’t filled your daily allotment of carbs just yet.Then the ketchup and basil sauce gets piled on with basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese mixed into it. If that’s not enough food for you, it also comes as part of a meal with fries and a piece of fried chicken. Delicious! If you close your eyes, it’s almost like you’re eating chicken parmesan. Yum!If you’re not so much into the pizza burger, the original Stretchy Cheese Burger and Stretchy Cheese and Beef Burger, which were originally sold back in March, will also be available starting on December 12 at Lotteria restaurants in Japan. They won’t even set you back too much cash. They might be bad news in terms of calories and how much “bad stuff” you’re putting in your body, but hey, for this kind of treat it’s totally worth it, right? Stay on target Finally, KFC Makes A Colonel Sanders Dating GameKFC Tests Plant-Based Beyond Fried Chicken in Atlanta 
Lionel Messi has finished the 2017-18 campaign as the top scoring player in the Top 5 European LeaguesThe Barcelona star beat rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah to end the season as Europe’s top goalscorer with 45 goals from 54 games in all competitions.Both Ronaldo and Salah had the chance to top Messi in Saturday’s Champions League final, but neither of them could find the back of the net with Salah being forced off after just half an hour.Europe’s top 10 goalscorers from the 2017/18 season:45 – Lionel Messi finished the 2017-18 campaign as the top scoring player in the Top 5 European Leagues (all competitions); netting one more than both Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo. Sensations. pic.twitter.com/Uw9BZ919K8
Fiorentina owner: “Ribery played better than Ronaldo!” Andrew Smyth – September 14, 2019 Fiorentina owner Rocco Commisso was left gushing over Franck Ribery’s performance against Juventus, which he rates above that of even Cristiano Ronaldo’s.— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 27, 2018Messi ends the club season with a record fifth Golden Shoe this season after his 34 goals in La Liga enabled him to beat Salah’s 32 in the Premier League.The Argentine also won the Pichichi award for finishing this season’s La Liga with the highest goal tally.
OCEANSIDE (KUSI) – Four people were arrested at a sobriety checkpoint today, police said.Oceanside police conducted the checkpoint at North Santa Fe and Mesa Drive between 8 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday. A total of 383 vehicles were screened and six sobriety exams were performed, leading to two DUI arrests and two other arrests. Citations were issued to 16 people.Checkpoint locations in search of impaired drivers are selected based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, police said. A DUI conviction can cost a driver as much as $13,500, including fines, fees, classes, license suspension and possible jail time.More checkpoints will be conducted in the coming months, police said. July 20, 2019 Four arrested at DUI checkpoint in Oceanside Posted: July 20, 2019 Categories: Local San Diego News FacebookTwitter KUSI Newsroom KUSI Newsroom, 
EXCLUSIVE: More than a quarter (29%) of employer respondents offer shares or share options for all employees, according to research by Employee Benefits and Xerox HR Services.The Benefits research 2016, which surveyed 338 employer respondents, also found that 16% offer shares or share options for executive and senior-level staff.Of those respondents that do offer a share scheme, almost half (47%) run a long-term incentive plan. Sharesave schemes (SAYE) and company share option plans (Csop) are also popular, with 27% and 22% of respondents offering these to staff, respectively.A fifth (21%) of respondents have an all-employee share incentive plan (Sip) offering matching shares, followed by a Sip offering with partnership shares (16%), and free shares (8%).Among those respondents that do not offer shares or share options to employees, not being a listed company is the top reason for not doing so (63%). Just 3% of respondents that do not have an employee share offering cite a preference for cash incentive schemes as the main reason for not doing so, and 13% do not offer shares because they do not consider it to be appropriate.
The ICICI bank signboard is reflected in a puddle on a street in New Delhi in this file photo. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiICICI Bank Ltd, the third-biggest Indian lender by assets, reported its first quarterly net loss in at least 16 years, hurt by higher provisions for bad loans and bond losses.While more than 86 percent of India’s $150 billion worth of non-performing loans at the end of March was with the dominant state-backed lenders, ICICI accounts for the biggest chunk of bad loans among the private sector banks.Net loss came in at 1.20 billion rupees ($17.5 million) for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of 20.49 billion rupees a year earlier, the bank said on Friday. Thomson Reuters data going back to 2002 do not show any previous quarterly losses for the bank.Analysts had on average expected a net profit of 14.62 billion rupees for the bank which is also listed in New York, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Even though the gross bad loan additions of 40.36 billion rupees in the June quarter was the lowest in 11, ICICI said it had to make additional provisions for ageing non-performing loans and cases in bankruptcy court, leading to the net loss.Total provisions more than doubled from a year earlier to 59.71 billion rupees with the bank not making use of a central bank dispensation of spreading bond losses over four quarters.Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans were 8.81 percent at the end of June, compared with 8.84 percent at the end of the previous quarter, and 7.99 percent a year earlier. Domestic loans grew 15 percent, led by a 20 percent growth in retail loans which now account for 58 percent of the total portfolio, the bank said. ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI BankReutersThe results come amid uncertainty about the bank’s long-serving Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar, who is on leave pending the completion of a probe into alleged nepotism charges against her. Group veteran Sandeep Bakhshi was last month named in a newly-created position of the chief operating officer to run the lender in the interim.Kochhar, who has been CEO of ICICI Bank since May 2009, has faced allegations of favouring Videocon Group, a consumer electronics and oil and gas exploration company, in the bank’s lending practices. Videocon’s founders had an investment in a renewable energy company founded by Kochhar’s husband.Bank of Baroda, the third-biggest among India’s state-run lenders which also reported first-quarter results on Friday, said net profit more than doubled, helped by lower bad-loan provisions.Ahead of the results, ICICI shares closed 2.6 percent higher in Mumbai trading. In New York, the stock rose 2.6 percent by 1400 GMT after the results, reversing earlier losses.
Tags: boeing By: The Associated Press Thursday, May 16, 2019 WASHINGTON – The acting chief of the Federal Aviation Administration defended his agency’s safety certification of the Boeing 737 Max jetliner, the plane involved in two deadly crashes, and the FAA’s decision not to ground the jet until other regulators around the world had already done so.During a congressional hearing Wednesday, the FAA official, Daniel Elwell, also stood by the agency’s decades-old policy of using employees of aircraft manufacturers like Boeing to conduct inspections on their own companies’ work.Boeing is updating an automated flight-control system that has been implicated in the two crashes involving the 737 Max. Elwell said he expects Boeing to complete its work “in the next week or so,” after which the FAA will analyze the software changes and conduct test flights.“In the U.S., the 737 Max will return to service only when the FAA’s analysis of the facts and technical data indicate that it is safe to do so,” Elwell said.Meanwhile, the Senate Commerce Committee held a short hearing for President Donald Trump’s choice to take over the FAA: Stephen Dickson, a former Delta Air Lines pilot and executive.During the two-hour questioning of Elwell by the House aviation subcommittee, lawmakers pressed him on the FAA’s reliance on designated Boeing employees during the planes’ certification process.Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., told Elwell that the public believes “you were in bed with those you were supposed to be regulating, and that’s why it took so long” to ground the planes.“The FAA has a credibility problem,” declared the subcommittee chairman, Rick Larsen, D-Wash.The 737 Max is Boeing’s bestselling plane and it is built in his home state of Washington. Larsen said Congress must help make the public feel safe about flying because “if they don’t fly, airlines don’t need to buy airplanes,” and “then there will be no jobs” in aircraft manufacturing.Other lawmakers defended the FAA and Boeing and suggested that the Oct. 29 crash of a Lion Air jet off Indonesia and the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max were due at least partly to pilot error. A total of 346 people were killed in the crashes.More news: Rome enforces ban on sitting on Spanish Steps“It bothers me that we continue to tear down our system based on what has happened in two other countries,” said Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo.Boeing is already the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department. Boeing customers Southwest Airlines and American Airlines and their pilot unions have received subpoenas related to that investigation; United Airlines, which also flew the Max until it was grounded in March, declined to comment, although its pilot union confirmed that it too has received a subpoena.Congressional investigations into the FAA’s relationship with Boeing are in the early stages. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who heads the full Transportation Committee, said he and Larsen have been frustrated after seeking information from Boeing.“Boeing has yet to provide a single document,” he said. “We’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”Elwell defended FAA’s practice of designating employees of Boeing and other aerospace manufacturers to do some inspection work, saying it takes advantage of industry expertise, and “when done right, is indispensable to the health and safety of our system.”At a Senate hearing in March, Elwell said it would cost $1.8 billion a year if FAA did all the work done by designees at companies regulated by the agency.On Wednesday, the acting chief defended the FAA’s 2017 approval of the Max including its new automated flight-control system that can push the nose of the plane down if a single sensor detects that the plane could be nearing an aerodynamic stall.That system, called MCAS, was triggered on both fatal flights by faulty sensor readings, and pilots were not able to regain control of the planes as they plunged to Earth. Airlines and pilots were not told about MCAS until after the October crash.“When I first heard of this, (I) thought that the MCAS should have been more adequately explained in the ops manual and the flight manual,” Elwell said.Boeing is changing MCAS to make it less powerful, and to link the system to two sensors instead of one. And it will include more explanation of the system, Elwell said, “to make pilots more aware and respond better to an anomaly.”More news: Virgin Voyages de-activates Quebec accounts at FirstMates agent portalAmerican Airlines pilots pressed Boeing in November _ shortly after the first Max crash _ to fix the software quickly.“We don’t want to rush and do a crappy job of fixing things,” a Boeing official responded, according to a recording of the meeting. “We also don’t want to fix the wrong things.”The Boeing representative called the Lion Air crash a tragedy, adding, “an even worse thing would be another one.” He promised a software update in six weeks.The update was still not done when the Ethiopian crash occurred more than three months later.“Boeing did not treat the 737 Max 8 situation like the emergency it was,” said Daniel Carey, president of the American Airlines pilots’ union, which has filed public records related to the matter. Carey said his pilots are seeking “proper oversight” of Boeing, the FAA and airlines including their own.Boeing representatives were not invited to Wednesday’s hearing.Nadia Milleron, whose daughter, Samya Stumo, was on the Ethiopian Airlines plane, was in the audience. She said FAA seems to be rushing to approve Boeing’s fixes to the Max even before the accident investigations are finished _ something that could take many months.“It is possible that these planes should never go back in the air,” she said.Milleron, whose family is suing Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines, said travellers hold the final power to ground the plane.“The only thing that is going to stop this is the public,” Milleron said in an interview. “If the public is concerned and if the Boeing 737 Max 8 … becomes toxic … that’s going to make a change.”Across Capitol Hill, the Senate Commerce Committee held a relatively placid hearing for Dickson, the nominee to replace Elwell, FAA’s acting administrator since January 2018.Dickson promised that if he is confirmed by the full Senate, he would not hesitate to take enforcement action against companies and FAA would not be captive to the industry it regulates.U.S. aviation has an enviable safety record over the past decade, Dickson said, but the industry is only as good as the last takeoff or landing. 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