GSK to axe U.S. jobs as part of $1.6 billion cost cuts: sources

A British Airways airplane flies past a signage for pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKlein in London
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

The following is what  Reuters is reporting about  GlaxoSmithKline Job cuts. GSK this week inform U.S. staff of hundreds of job cuts in its biggest market as the drugmaker starts implementing a major cost-saving program, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Britain’s top drugmaker announced at third-quarter results on Oct. 22 that the new restructuring scheme would save 1 billion pounds ($1.56 billion) in annual costs over three years, but it has yet to tell employees where the axe will fall.

Staff in the United States, where GSK has been struggling with falling sales of respiratory drugs, will be briefed on the changes on Wednesday by the company’s head of North American pharmaceuticals Deirdre Connelly, the sources said.

A GSK spokesman declined to go into details but said the aim of the restructuring program was to improve performance by reducing complexity and establishing a smaller, more focused and lower-cost organization.

“Each business unit is currently deciding how to respond to this challenge. When we do have proposals, we will first share those with our employees,” he said in an e-mailed statement.

Respiratory medicine has traditionally been GSK’s strongest business and Advair – an inhaled therapy for asthma and chronic lung disease – is its biggest seller. But Advair sales are now tumbling the United States, while new lung drugs Breo and Anoro are proving slow to take off.

Advair has been hit by competition from rivals and an increasing trend by U.S. health insurers to use hardball tactics to get drugmakers to cut prices for older products.

French drugmaker Sanofi has reported similar pressures from U.S. insurers in the diabetes market.

U.S. insurers, who themselves are under pressure to keep premiums in check, are pushing back particularly hard on prices for medicines in areas like diabetes and respiratory diseases where there are multiple options for doctors and patients.

The revamped GSK operation in the United States is designed to defend the company’s margins in this tough environment. The changes will also take into account the movement of some pharmaceuticals staff as a result of a complex asset swap deal with Switzerland’s Novartis, which is taking over GSK’s oncology business.

Culled from Reuters

 

Ferguson police officer who killed black teen resigns from force

FERGUSON, The white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in a St. Louis suburb has resigned, his lawyer said on Saturday, as activists set out on a 120-mile (193-km) march to protest the killing and a grand jury’s decision not to indict him.

The resignation of Darren Wilson from the Ferguson, Missouri, police force comes nearly four months after he killed 18-year-old Michael Brown and days after the announcement that he would not face criminal charges.

The incident, which has led to months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson, has reignited a debate over race relations and the use of police force in the United States.

Neil Bruntrager, an attorney for Wilson, confirmed that the officer had submitted his resignation, a move that was long anticipated, no matter the outcome of the grand jury’s deliberations.

“In terms of his safety, it is probably the best thing for him,” said Cynthia Burnes, 26, a nurse’s assistant from St. Louis who was among about 50 people gathered in front of the Ferguson police headquarters on Saturday evening. “He is black-listed from this moment on.”

A man was arrested at the scene after he knelt in the middle of the street with his hands raised, chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot,” a common refrain at Ferguson protests.

In a letter published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wilson said he had been told that “my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow.”

Wilson, who said he was acting in self-defence when he shot Brown, said he wanted to wait until after the grand jury’s decision before he made his decision to resign, according to the letter.

After a night of arson and looting in Ferguson following the decision, demonstrations this week spread to other major U.S. cities, with some of the protests targeting shopping malls on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, as the holiday shopping season got under way.

On Saturday, activists shifted gears by setting off on a seven-day march from Ferguson to Jefferson City, the state capital. The march, reminiscent of the civil rights marches of the 1960s, was organised by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The NAACP is calling for a reform of police practices, a new police chief in Ferguson and a national law to prevent racial profiling by police.

More than 150 people set out on the “Journey for Justice” from the Canfield Green Apartments, near the spot where Brown was shot and killed, with some marchers singing the decades-old protest song “We Shall Overcome.”

Sandra Henry, 53, a registered nurse from St. Louis, said she was marching to press for reform of police practices.

“This isn’t just about St. Louis. We are speaking for other cities, other countries too,” Henry said.

All told, about 100 marchers were expected to make the entire journey, with about 1,000 expected to be part of the final leg of the march, said NAACP staff member Jamiah Adams.

By nightfall, a dozen people had gathered at the Ferguson police station, the scene of some of this week’s worst riots. No police officers were standing out front but a small crew of national guard lingered in the back.

The shooting and its aftermath are taking a toll on the state’s finances. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has called for the state assembly to convene for a special session to approve more funds for the Missouri Highway Patrol and the National Guard after months of protests over Brown’s death.

In New York, activists rallied in Harlem on Saturday to draw parallels between Brown’s death and what they see as other cases of unjustified police violence.

 

Beckham and eldest son escape injury in car crash

Retired English soccer star David Beckham and his teenage son Brooklynwere involved in a car crash outside Arsenal’s training ground in Hertfordshire, north of London, but did not suffer any injuries, according to a source close to Beckham.

“David and Brooklyn did not suffer any injuries and as I understand it both passengers in the other vehicle were unharmed. David and Brooklyn were shaken by the accident but thankfully OK,” added the source, who declined to be named.

The Telegraph newspaper said Beckham, 39, the former England captain, was picking up his 15-year-old son when his Audi RS6 was involved in a collision with another car but were saved by the deployment of the car’s airbags.

Brooklyn, who plays for Arsenal under-16s, had just finished a match against Brighton’s under-16s, the Telegraph said in its online edition.

Reuters***CREDIT

Isis Acknowledges Boko Haram Has Pledged Allegiance To Their Caliphate

The Islamic State has finally (subtly) acknowledged that Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Al-Baghdadi & Caliphate in the new edition of ‘Dabique’.
‘Dabique’ is the title of the online magazine used by the Islamic State for propaganda and recruitment.

In it, IS stated the following:
“Glad tidings, O Muslims, for we give you good news by announcing the expansion of the Islamic State to new lands, to the lands of al-Haramayn and Yemen… to Egypt, Libya, and Algeria. We announce the acceptance of the bay’ah of those who gave us bay’ah in those lands, the nullification of the groups therein, the announcement of new wilāyāt for the Islamic State, and the appointment of wulāt for them.”

Prior to the announcement of the new wilāyāt,a number of groups in Khurāsān, al-Qawqāz, Indonesia, Nigeria,the Philippines, and elsewhere had pledged their allegiance to the Khalīfah, and continue to do so daily. The Islamic State announced the acceptance of the bay’āt from all of these groups and individuals – may Allah accept their noble oath and keep them firm upon their covenant, free of falter – but delayed the announcement of their respective wilāyāt, while recognizing that some groups from the aforementioned lands are larger and stronger than a few of those related to the newly announced wilāyāt. This delay should end with either the appointment or recognition of leadership by the Khalīfah for those lands where multiple groups have given bay’āt and merged, or the establishment of a direct line of communication between the Khilāfah and the mujāhid leadership of lands who have yet to contact the Islamic State and thus receive information and directives from the Khalīfah.

The protests marks the first time the ISIS black flags have been flown in Europe Frank Verhoef

I hope and I pray that Abuja finally wakes up to the threat against Nigeria coming from IS Nigeria aka Boko Haram. It would be terrible if Nigeria only wakes up when they carry out an attack of immense proportions as a backdrop to showcase their new unification.

For those who follow this sort of thing, BH/IS unity is no longer in the domain of speculation as there are more than enough ‘clues’ showing that both organizations are one.

Having said that, a cursory study of IS ops shows that when they go as far as ‘declaring’ a place one of their ‘Provinces’ e.g. Aleppo, they pledge manpower and resources to take full control of such a place. Consequently, their declaration of Borno State as ‘Wilayat al-Furqan’, their first outside Iraq and Syria is their boldest move to date indicating their designs for Nigeria.

Biafrans separate from this monsters called Hausa fulani return to your father Israel.

CREDIT  Journalist 101 and below link

Source: http://ad76.com/2014/11/24/islamic-state-finally-acknowledges-boko-haram-has-pledged-allegiance-to-al-baghdadi-their-caliphate/

Obama shrugs off criticism on immigration action, and talks about his possible successor

President of the United States

U.S. President Barack Obama shrugged off criticism of his executive action on immigration with a challenge to House of Representatives Republicans: if you don’t like it, do something.

Obama was asked in an interview broadcast on Sunday (November 23) about House Speaker John Boehner’s assertion that he was acting like an emperor in using executive powers to tackle the issue of the 11 million immigrants living in America without documents.

“Well, my response is pass a bill,” Obama said in the interview with ABC’s “This Week,” which was taped on Friday (November 21).

“Congress has a responsibility to deal with these issues and there are some things that I can’t do on my own,” he said.

Obama announced on Thursday (November 20) he was easing the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants. His measures include allowing some 4.4 million people who are parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and who have been in the country for five years to remain in the country temporarily, with the right to work.

He said Boehner still had several weeks to bring the bill before the House or could work with Democrats to craft a new one, according to an ABC transcript of the interview.

Boehner has not given any indication he will act on immigration this year. Republicans will dominate the new Congress in January after seizing control of the Senate from Democrats and increasing their hold on the House of Representatives in Nov. 4 midterm elections.

Obama also talked about Democrat Hillary Clinton’s possible presidential run for the White House in 2016, saying he expects her to stake out positions that may be different from his in her campaign.

Clinton, who lost to Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination race and served as his secretary of state in his first term, is considering a run in 2016 and is expected to make up her mind in the early months of 2015.

“She’s not going to agree with me on everything,” Obama said. “One of the benefits of running for president is you can stake out your own positions, and have a clean slate, a fresh start.”

Obama, whose 40 percent job approval rating was a drag on Democrats in Nov. 4 midterms elections, said he doubted he will be asked to campaign much for the eventual Democratic nominee in 2016.

Obama spent the weekend in the Las Vegas area and was returning to Washington on Sunday.

**Reuters***

UK’s first ‘poo bus’ hits the road

The Bio-Bus is powered by biomethane gas generated from human poo and food waste. Photograph: Wessex Water/PA

Britain’s first ‘poo bus’ will take to the road on Thursday, powered entirely by human and food waste.

The 40-seat “Bio-Bus” runs on biomethane gas, generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste. It can travel up to 186 miles on one tank of gas, which takes the annual waste of around five people to produce.

The bus is run by Bath Bus Company and will transport passengers between Bath and Bristol Airport.

Engineers believe the bus could provide a sustainable way of fuelling public transport while improving urban air quality.

The gas is generated at Bristol sewage treatment works, run by GENeco, a subsidiary of Wessex Water. It produces fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines and is both renewable and sustainable.

This week, the company also became the first in the UK to inject gas generated from human and food waste into the national gas grid network.

Mohammed Saddiq, general manager of GENeco, said: “Through treating sewage and food that’s unfit for human consumption we’re able to produce enough biomethane to provide a significant supply of gas to the national gas network that’s capable of powering almost 8,500 homes as well as fuelling the Bio-Bus.

“Gas-powered vehicles have an important role to play in improving air quality in UK cities, but the Bio-Bus goes further than that and is actually powered by people living in the local area, including quite possibly those on the bus itself.”

Bath Bus Company will use the Bio-Bus for its rapidly growing A4 service from Bath to Bristol Airport via South Bristol.

Collin Field, engineering director at Bath Bus Company, said: “Up to 10,000 passengers are expected to travel on the A4 service in a month, which is available not only for airport travel, but also local journeys along the route through Saltford, Keynsham, Brislington, Knowle and Hengrove.

Bristol sewage treatment works processes around 75m cubic metres of sewage waste and 35,000 tonnes of food waste collected from households, supermarkets and food manufacturers each year.

A total of 17m cubic metres of biomethane – the equivalent of meeting the power needs of 8,300 homes – is generated each year at the plant through a process known as anaerobic digestion.

Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association, added: “A home generated green gas, biomethane, is capable of replacing around 10% of the UK’s domestic gas needs and is currently the only renewable fuel available for HGVs.

“The bus also clearly shows that human poo and our waste food are valuable resources.

“Food which is unsuitable for human consumption should be separately collected and recycled through anaerobic digestion into green gas and biofertilisers, not wasted in landfill sites or incinerators.

culled from Guardian

Watch Live: Netanyahu Holds News Conference After Attack

Live Video: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds news conference following a deadly attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem.

 

http://player.theplatform.com/p/2E2eJC/nbcNewsOffsite?guid=nbcnewslive_nyc4

 

President Obama condemns attack on synagogue in Jerusalem

President of the United States

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the attack by two Palestinians on a synagogue in Jerusalem that killed four people and called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to lower tensions and seek peace.

“Obviously we condemn in the strongest terms these attacks. A number of people were wounded and four people were killed, including three American citizens. So this is a tragedy for both nations, Israel as well as the United States. And our hearts go out to the families who are obviously undergoing enormous grief right now,” Obama said after a White House meeting with health officials on Ebola.

“The murderers for today’s outrageous acts represent the kind of extremism that threatens to bring all of the Middle East into the kind of spiral from which it’s very difficult to emerge,” he added.

Obama said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacks.

“Tragically this is not the first loss of life that we have seen in recent months. Too many Israelis have died, too many Palestinians have died. And at this difficult time I think it’s important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions,” he said.

“Well, I’ve got my team here to talk about Ebola, but before I do let me first make mention of the horrific attacks which took place in Jerusalem. We know that two attackers senselessly and brutally attacked innocent worshippers in the synagogue during their morning prayers. Obviously we condemn in the strongest terms these attacks. A number of people were wounded and four people were killed, including three American citizens. So this is a tragedy for both nations, Israel as well as the United States. And our hearts go out to the families who are obviously undergoing enormous grief right now.

Secretary Kerry has spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu. President Abbas has strongly condemned the attacks. Tragically this is not the first loss of life that we have seen in recent months. Too many Israelis have died and too many Palestinians have died. At this difficult time I think it’s important that both Israelis and Palestinians to try to work together to lower tensions and to reject violence.

The murderers for today’s outrageous acts represent the kind of extremism that threatens to bring all of the Middle East into the kind of spiral from which it’s very difficult to emerge. And we know how this violence can get worse over time. But we have to remind ourselves that the majority of Palestinians and Israelis overwhelmingly want peace, and be able to raise their families knowing they’re safe and secure. The United States wants to work with all parties involved to make that a reality and to isolate the kind of extremists that are bringing about this terrible carnage.”

The attack which happened earlier today left six people day in Jerusalem.

Updates :six worshipers killed in attack on Jerusalem synagogue

Two Palestinian men armed with axes and knives killed six people in a Jerusalemsynagogue on Tuesday (November 18) before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such attack in the city in six years and a reflection of deepening religious animosity.

The attack took place shortly after dawn in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of West Jerusalem. Pictures posted by an Israeli army spokesman on the Internet showed a man in a Jewish prayer shawl lying dead, a bloodied butcher’s cleaver discarded on the floor and several overturned prayer tables.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed the four dead and said that the two assailants, both from predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, had been shot dead by police.

Israel’s ambulance service said at least eight people were seriously wounded.

Palestinian radio reports described the attackers as “martyrs” and the Islamist group Hamaspraised the attack. Loudspeakers at mosques in Gaza called out congratulations.

Palestinian media named the attackers as Ghassan and Udai Abu Jamal, cousins from the Jerusalem district of Jebel Mukaber, and said they were members of a small militant group.

Israeli Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett blamed the attack on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he accused of urging Palestinians towards violence.

“What we see here is a deliberate initiative of Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) to boil the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. So he’s been inciting, he’s been calling on people to use acts of violence and now we’re seeing the results,” Bennett told Reuters Television in an interview in Jerusalem.

“We’re going to get to the head of these groups and we are also going to enforce on Abu Mazen(Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) more pressure in order to stop this deliberate incitement,” he added.

Violence in Jerusalem, areas of Israel and the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories has surged in the past month, fuelled by a dispute over Jerusalem‘s holiest shrine, which has given rise to fears of a religious conflict.

Five Israelis and a foreign visitor have been deliberately run over and killed or stabbed to death by Palestinians. About a dozen Palestinians have also been killed, including those accused of carrying out those attacks.

On Monday a Palestinian bus driver was found hanged in a vehicle in Jerusalem. Israeli police, citing autopsy results, said he had committed suicide. But the driver’s family said they suspected foul play and the incident led to clashes.

Hamas called for retaliation after the bus driver’s death.

Residents trace the violence in Jerusalem to July, when a Palestinian teenager was burned to death by Jewish assailants, an alleged revenge attack for the abduction and killing of three Jewish teens by Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank.

The summer war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and a row over access to a Jerusalem compound that is sacred to Muslims and Jews alike have also been triggers for violence.

The synagogue attack was the worst in the city since 2008, when a Palestinian gunman shot dead eight people in a religious seminary school in the city.

Update the death toll has risen to six from four earlier reported

 

Graphix twitter feeds

“@i24news_FR : Attentat #Jerusalem : #Israël va faciliter le port d'armes pour l'autodéfense : http://t.co/BTkp5focPG” Très bonne décision !

— Jérémy Benhaïm (@JeremBenhaim) November 18, 2014

Israeli police take aim at something off camera in aftermath of #Hamas terror attack in #Jerusalem

via @INFOSISSA pic.twitter.com/zX7TeAesRD

— news timeline (@News_grid) November 18, 2014

@WSJ The PFLP has claimed responsibility for the attack. #Jerusalem #Israel #terrorism

— Gedalyah Reback (@gedalyahreback) November 18, 2014

Terrorists armed with a pistol and an axe killed 4 Jews in a Jewish synagogue in Har Nof #israel #jews #jerusalem pic.twitter.com/95dHTMtWWi

— Hebrew Books Store (@HebrewBookscom) November 18, 2014

Four Killed In #Jerusalem Synagogue Attack http://t.co/Wx3n2Osqmc

— Judah (@lion_judea) November 18, 2014

https://twitter.com/StePozzebon/status/534671868020948992

#Jerusalem synagogue attack kills four http://t.co/f30xlgYHol

— Wim van Rennes (@wimvanrennes) November 18, 2014

https://twitter.com/wewilldefend/status/534671416302792704

Foreign Secretary condemns #Jerusalem synagogue attack as he meets John Kerry for talks on violence in Middle East.. https://t.co/4wuCHQKWzs

— UK in Holy See 🇬🇧🇻🇦 (@UKinHolySee) November 18, 2014

https://twitter.com/TimesofIsraelFR/status/534672113831907329

4 are dead , 13 injured in attack on synagogue #Jerusalem via @IsraelHatzolah pic.twitter.com/hfn2HjMeED

— Amr Khalifa (@Cairo67Unedited) November 18, 2014

https://twitter.com/ViewtoMidEast/status/534670792902991872

 

Please stop killing Jews

 

New:Video Happy birthday to P-Square-Shekini

Happy birthday to P-Square, African R&B duo composed of identical twin brothers Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye born November 18, 1981 in Omanbara, the due celebrate another year of testimony this time with a great dance video titled :Shekini

Press Release:

Africa’s biggest singing duo come through with the second video to one of the singles off their recently released 6th studio album, “Double Trouble”. “Shekini” video is an energetic pictorial which sees the artistes combine with youthful dancers to perform moves that’d bring you to life. From garages to underground scenes, the dark-themed flick definitely does justice to the song. Video was directed by Clarence Peters, and song produced by Vtek, who also made a cameo appearance